I was like a lot of other tourist passing through Arizona. I was
going to Tombstone,
The Town Too Tough to Die.
The last thing in the world I expected to find in Tombstone would
be
The World's Largest Rosebush, but find it, I did.
As the legend goes, a lady by the name of Mary Gee came to
Tombstone from Scotland in 1885. She was the bride of a local miner,
and she stayed at the Cochise House while her home was being
constructed. She was horrendously homesick, and her family sent her
some reminders of home to make her feel better. One of those things
was a root to her favorite plant, Lady Banks' Rosebush. She was
friendly with the owner of the hotel, and the bush was planted on the
grounds. The rest of the story is history.
Today the bush is in the same spot, but the Cochise House is now
called the
Rose
Tree Inn Museum and Gift Shop. It blooms white roses every April, and their is a parade and festival to celebrate the blooming. The rosebush is at the corner of 4h
Street and Toughnut.
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Its canopy covers 8,500 (!) square feet. The trunk has a circumference of 12 feet. It is, and has been, listed in
the Guinness Book of World Records.
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The trellis to hold this bush up has changed through the years
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A man who is originally from Greece prunes the rosebush
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There are steps to climb so you can look down on the top of the rosebush. |
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If you're in the mood for travel this spring
Rose Tree Festival - April 05, 06, 07, 2013
This
year's event celebrates the 128th blooming of the World's Largest
Rose Tree.
See the "Softer Side of Tombstone's History".
There will be the crowning of the Rose Queen and her court under
the 9,000 square foot Rose Tree. Other activities include a Pancake
breakfast, Lunch Box auction, Parade,
Mariachi and Folklorico dancers and a round table discussion with
long-time Tombstone residents on Saturday.
The tour guide told me about the “Rose
Parade” in Tombstone, and remarked that the other Rose
Parade, somewhere, perhaps Pasadena copied their name.
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and there are chairs to relax a spell
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So interesting the routes I almost took ... this is really something!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I added this to my list of places to visit.
ReplyDeleteI have booked my trip for this year. This has been on my bucket list.
ReplyDelete