Groundbreaking for the Rose Garden took place in 1931. It took six years of planning and planting before it was officially dedicated. The San Jose municipal Rose Garden is 5 and a half acres in size. Thousands of visitors walk through here each year. There are over 4,000 rose plants with 189 varieties planted. The blooms start in April and last all the way into November.
Here we are, in front of the redwood trees planted there. We first moved to San Jose in 1956. I remember being eight years old. I was going to start the new school year as a fourth grader. By the size of me, this must have been our first year there.
Actually, our home was in Santa Clara. They used to be two separate cities but with the growing populations they grew into each other. Our house was a short drive away.
That’s me on the left, short hair, short pants. My sister Teresa sitting next to my dad. My mother was next to my brother Carlitos.
This picture must’ve been taken on the same day. It is the same place. I can see now by the way I was standing next to my brother how damaged we were. We had been separated for many years, my mother was battling TB ever since I was born. We went to our godparents while my mom was in the hos[ital.We are not standing close together. My oldest sister is not even in the picture. We were just four individuals who happened to be standing. Thinking about this in my old age, as much as we wanted to be a family, there was always that distance that you see here.
The trees in the background on the left, are probably the same trees. I believe they should have been even bigger after all these years that have gone by.
I took these pictures in mid-April. I had to walk through the garden alone. Milady loves flowers but, you know, allergies.
I took more pictures of the roses than these. But I think I might be boring you with rose pictures. Just one more.
One of the volunteer gardeners told me that this fountain has been there from the beginning. I do not remember that fountain. I think my parents knew what would have happened if I got near it.
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