In the northwest corner of Julia Davis Park is a small, fence bound, rectangular section that lies within the larger park boundaries - the Rose Garden.
along with birds, bees and insects of all kinds, many visitors are lured to the rose garden; waves of tourists, Prom attendees dressed in gowns and formal wear, photographers and wedding ceremonies. They all walk through the garden in silent appreciation and praise for what they see.
The Garden is partially maintained for several months by a small troop of volunteers trimming stems and blooms, pulling weeds, raking and maintaining its beauty.
the volunteers are a mix of local people; recent transplants, and long time residents, each with their personal reasons for volunteering.
but collectively, the common voice among them spoke about actively participating in their community, helping out, giving back.
scroll below - Meet the group of people who work in the rose garden.
click each photograph to see a larger version
The Julia Davis Rose Garden is set to be redesigned in the coming months. Roses are labeled and tagged, to be dug up and stored during the winter. When finished the garden will be expanded. two fountains at both ends will be removed.
Laura Spencer has been volunteering at the Rose Garden for six years. She has been a resident of Boise for 34 years.
Melinda Rippy has been a volunteer four years. She's recently retired and spends 2 -3 hours every Friday in the garden.
Today, there are approximately 2400 different roses blooming in the garden.
The City of Boise's website says the Julia Davis Park is the cities oldest park and created in 1907 by Thomas Davis who donated 43 acres of land as a memorial to his wife, Julia.
Connie Christofferson enrolled in Master Naturalist training which led her to the rose garden. She says that visitors sometimes stop and thank them directly for their work in the rose garden.
Tim Mitchell is one of newest members of volunteers. He is a long-time resident of Idaho. He starts his day talking to the roses, telling them how good they look and then begins looking them over, deciding what they need.
The Rose Garden originated with H. C. Schuppel in 1935. Schuppel was chairman of a Mens Garden Club called the "Cut Worms." The club was restricted to 20 members and two rules: no women and no publicity.
Kathy Brummund has been a volunteer three years as of this 2025 summer. She was a high school teacher in California before moving to Boise a few years ago.
Rodger and Kelly Stringham, recently retired from Virginia are second year volunteers. They also volunteer in the weed warriors program helping to eradicate goatheads. While they are happy living in boise, Kelly said it was hard at first to get use to the lack of green in the area.
Kathy Sagunsky moved from Oregon four years ago. She sees her fellow volunteers in the Rose Garden as a little family - "people are happy when here."
Diane Davis Myklegard is the great granddaughter of Thomas and Julia Davis, the namesake of the park. Diane has been tagging roses this summer for their temporary removal and storage while the garden gets redesigned. She has been instrumental in raising donations for the park and rose garden.
Julia Davis was known for her kindness and gracious hospitality, welcoming and assisting emigrants traveling the Oregon Trail.
Mindy Leroy, standing with her favorite roses, is the head of the Rose Society in Boise. She records the history of the Rose Garden and the Rose Society.
Jerry Pugh is the City of Boise's Community Volunteer Coordinator. He works with all volunteers at the city's parks. His rule of thumb to volunteers tending the rose garden, " what do the roses need? "
beginning in autumn the garden will undergo a massive change. the new design will offer better access and more efficient watering.
On Friday, October 24, volunteers descended on the garden to help "winterize" the rose garden.
winterizing the garden requires trimming all the blooms off the rose bushes and cutting down the stems down low.
volunteers worked several hours this season keeping the garden healthy and vibrant. clipping back the growth is part of the seasonal cycle that keeps the rose garden thriving.
as autumn descends on the rose garden, new blooms will begin a new era for the rose garden in the coming spring.