Merrick Rose Garden,
Evanston, Sept. 9, 2020: Gary Eanes (pronounced “Eenz”) dons his mask, grabs
his rain gear from his truck, and escorts your reporters along a gravel path
among the pinks and creams of September roses. The morning is drippy with rain,
and Gary lays his rain gear across a memorial bench and takes a seat. After
establishing a six-foot distance, we begin our conversation with the man who
has maintained the stunningly beautiful Merrick Rose Garden since March 1998.
As a high school student on
the north side of Chicago, Gary worked at Van Zelst’s lawn and garden center,
where he began learning about horticulture. He attended North Park College and,
after graduating, maintained the grounds there for six years. An interest in
printing led him to complete a program at Lane Technical High School, after
which he worked as a printer for seven years.
In 1995, his wife alerted
him to a job opening with the City of Evanston, and he was hired to work in various
capacities. When the longtime gardener Ambrose Kiss retired in 1998, Gary was
given responsibility for the Merrick Rose Garden. Despite his many years
working in landscaping, he knew very little about roses; so he purchased a copy
of “Roses for Dummies” and read it cover-to-cover. He still keeps it in the
glove compartment of his truck.
Fast forward to autumn 2020,
and Gary is scanning the beds of hybrid tea roses, floribunda roses, and shrub
roses that are the showpieces of the garden. He currently spends about 30 hours
per week, over a span of four days, raking the gravel paths, weeding the beds,
rejuvenating and mowing the grass, and deadheading roses. “Housekeeping,” he
summarizes. “It’s mostly housekeeping.” And whispering – in the sense of gently
but firmly coaxing beauty from every plant under his care. The garden contains
some 1,500 individual rose plants, made up of 90 to 100 varieties.
Each year Gary assesses the health of the
plants and orders replacements from a variety of growers, all of which are
located in America. (He explains that some rose varieties are hybridized in
other countries and licensed to be grown in the United States.)
Because roses are bred for
greater disease resistance, he finds they have become less finicky over the
years. He makes selections based on color, height, spread, appearance of the
blooms, and resistance to disease. New roses are planted in the spring.
Funding for the garden comes
from City of Evanston Greenways (formerly known as the Parks Department) and
from a bequest made by Richard Merrick, who passed away in 2003. (Richard was
the son of attorney and Evanston alderman Clinton Merrick, for whom the garden
had been named when it was established in 1948. A grandson of Clinton Merrick
lives on the West Coast.)
For many years, varieties
from All American Rose Selections were displayed, and some of their signage
remains in the beds. The nearness of Lake Michigan makes conditions milder in
Evanston, and the roses, selected for Zone 5, generally thrive.
Japanese beetles have not
infested the garden in significant numbers. A combination of Gary’s
housekeeping and Mother Nature’s gifts makes for a lush garden – unless that
balance is upset. We mention that the garden looks especially beautiful this year
compared with 2019, and Gary ruefully tells us he was off work for ten weeks
last year due to an injury. It was obvious when the gardener’s caring hands
were absent. This year his charges – especially the Julia Childs, Memorial
Days, and Secrets that he likes best – have given us truly spectacular blooms.
Gary is assisted by other City
employees with the heavy gardening tasks in fall and spring.
Starting April 1, the team
rakes out the spent compost from the beds and looks to see what has survived
the winter. They prune any burned-out canes and dead tissue, carefully
assessing every plant (in general, Gary has found only mild winterkill in the
Merrick garden); and they plant the new bushes Gary has ordered.
In addition, they clean the
jets and basin of the memorial fountain and prepare the system; and they mow
the lawn and tend to any displaced brick- and stonework. The air starts to warm
enough to force open the rose blooms in June.
The first hard frost,
usually between Oct. 16 and 31, kills any late buds, and by Thanksgiving each
year all the roses will have been fertilized and put to bed. Fresh compost is
mounded around each plant’s base to protect the roots by allowing them to stay
frozen throughout the winter. On days when conditions permit a winter walk in
the garden, only the canes will be visible. Finally, on April 1 Gary begins the
cycle again.
In April of this year,
however, the garden most likely will be in another’s hands, as Gary hopes to
retire after more than two decades tending the Merrick roses. Along with his
wife, Melanie, who is a chaplain at Friendship Village retirement community in
Schaumburg, he has raised a son, now working with Epic Systems (medical
software) in Wisconsin, and a daughter, who is a senior at Knox College in Galesburg.
Gary is looking forward to
spending more time at home, but roses will not be far from his thoughts: He has
several in his garden, including a plant he has nurtured for 20 years. The
variety is called Carefree, but it is clear he has cared for it, just as he has
cared for the 1,500 plants that adorn the corner of Oak and Lake and give so
much pleasure to us all.
Published
in the Oak Court Condominium Newsletter, October 2020; reprinted with permission
of the author