Morcom Rose Garden: An Oakland Oasis
On the cusp of the Oakland-Piedmont border, the 30’s-era Morcom Rose Garden is a pleasant walk from the shops of Grand Avenue. The park is dedicated to mothers, and the rose garden here is a great place to set the little ones loose. Enclosed on all sides within a formal, path-strewn landscape covered with flower beds, the rose garden is an easy place to keep new walkers close while relaxing on a park bench. Thousands of roses are in bloom from Mother’s Day through the end of October.
After taking in the roses, meander down the main path to a multi-tired, cascading fountain across the way. Climb up the hillside stairway that runs alongside the fountain. Mini-paths will lead you to benches and tables for reading, picnicking, or watching the day go by. Watch or join the joggers who come here to train, trotting up and down the steeper stairways leading into the park. Depending on when you come, the pond may be full or halfway there and the blackberries may be in season.
In addition to mothers, readers, picnickers, joggers, and day-watchers, brides-to-be tend to have a sweet-spot for the Morcom Rose Garden. The entire outdoor facility here is available for rent, and a backdrop of multi-colored roses for your event may be the key to a fairytale setting.
Friends of the Morcom Rose Garden, a group of volunteers including the Dedicated Deadheaders who don tie-dyed vests and pluck weeds ten hours a week, deserve some credit for keeping the garden beautiful and viable for the community. Without them, the garden couldn’t have transformed into a 2009 AARS All-America Rose Selection Public Garden. Too many public parks have fallen victim to a lack of city funding in Oakland, and with volunteer support, the Morcom Rose Garden has escaped the same fate.
Posted by Renee Rutledge
