Farmers Branch will host the Celebration of Roses on Saturday, October 20, 2018 at Gussie Field Watterworth Park Pavilion. Volunteers, including some Master Gardeners, will be in the gardens from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to answer questions as visitors take a self-guided tour of six gardens. Shuttles provide easy access between the gardens all day.

The event begins at Gussie Pavilion with free registration. Get a bucket and clippers and enjoy listening to live bluegrass music while collecting blooms. At 10:30 a.m., the Brookhaven Garden Club will lead a floral arranging workshop at the pavilion. At this hand-on class, attendees will use their clippings to create a souvenir bouquet.

“The most amazing thing about the Celebration of Roses is that it’s the one time of the year you will be able to pick roses and make arrangements,” says Pam Smith, park landscape manager.

From 9:00 a.m. to noon, guests ages six and up can learn from Girls Scouts about the Power of the Pollinator and make arrangements with pollinator plants in the West Rose Garden. Pollinator plants include salvia, lantana and Gregg’s Mist Flower. These plants attract monarch butterflies on the fall migration to Mexico.

“We’ve done a great job of incorporating pollinator plants in various parts of the garden. In the fall not only do you have the roses in bloom, but the salvias are also in bloom and it’s not uncommon for them to be covered in monarchs,” says Smith. “It’s magical.”

At 11:30 a.m., enjoy a complimentary hot dog lunch near Rawhide Creek and live music overflowing from the Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival in Farmers Branch Historical Park.

Visitors to the Celebration of Roses are invited to The American Rose Society South Central District Rose Show, which will be at City Hall from 12:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Talk and get tips from rosarians and learn about new roses and insects in repeating workshops at 1:30 and 2:30.

Wrap up the afternoon in the Historical Park Rose Garden with the Lewisville Visual Art League and make an art trading card. Entrance to the Historical Park requires a ticket to the Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival.

The gardens of Farmers Branch have developed over the past 10 years into a fragrant urban oasis. Established in 2008 as a trial garden in partnership with Texas A&M Agrilife Extension, it has expanded to include trials for sustainability and is the only public garden in the country with sanctioned trials for David Austin roses. A hybridizer from England, David Austin has brought the fragrance back into modern roses.

“It’s intoxicating when you’re in the garden with the David Austin roses,” says Smith. “It’s one thing to say it’s easy to grow roses in England, but it’s different in Texas.”

Smith says the interactive experience has something for everyone.

“You can come with your girlfriends, or on a date,” she says. “The grandparent in me appreciates the playground for the kids. It’s a great family experience.

Admission to the Celebration of Roses is free and parking is available at the park or at City Hall. Located near the Lyndon B Johnson Freeway and I-35E, Gussie Field Watterworth Park is only 30 miles from downtown Ft. Worth and is accessible by the DART Green Line. Discover everything going on in Farmers Branch on Facebook.