Stop & Smell the Roses

Photos by Helen Ripken

Stop and smell the roses! How often we banter that expression about in today’s fast-paced, over-scheduled, technology-driven world, as if our pent-up longings for stillness and connection with nature can be resolved by simply pausing on a walk to inhale deeply the perfume of a neighbor’s blooms. And yet there is something about a rose garden that does invite us to stop and savor the moment, to abandon our to-do list and our time schedule for a little while and fill our senses with the wonder and beauty of roses.

The art of cultivating roses has drawn gardeners for centuries, both for their own pleasure and to share with others. As Luther Burbank said, “Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.” As I sit here on this damp, gray January morning, I dream of a stroll through a sunlit rose garden.

This spring, our community is invited to tour five beautiful rose gardens in Stockton, each with its own history, purpose and style. The Stockton Rose Garden Tour is presented by HERLIFE Magazine in celebration of the 20th anniversary of SASS! Public Relations. It will take place on Saturday, April 25, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. In partnership with Stockton Beautiful and the Stockton Garden Club, visitors will enjoy docent-led visits, rose demonstrations, art, music, refreshments and more as they welcome the change of season.

University Park World Peace Rose Garden
On the Rose Garden Tour, the spectacular University Park World Peace Rose Garden, located at 599 E. Magnolia Street, is one you won’t want to miss. In the early 2000s, Grupe Huber Company took over the management of this property, re-envisioning the 102-acre parcel originally donated to the City of Stockton by founder Captain Charles Weber. According to Sandy Grupe Huber, Principal of Grupe Huber Company who oversees University Park, their goal was to create a space that could represent a community effort toward health and healing. On a trip to the state capitol approximately 15 years ago, Sandy discovered the World Peace Rose Garden there and an idea was born to bring such a garden to Stockton. International World Peace Rose Gardens are found throughout the U.S. and internationally; they are living monuments to the idea that peace can grow through community engagement, education and shared beauty.

Two hundred seventy bare root roses were nurtured in the dirt behind the Hubers’ barn for two years before being transplanted to the World Peace Rose Garden. The garden is designed around a central Peace Plaza with seven large rays in the form of a sun. In full bloom, it is a blaze of color and fragrance. Benches and peaceful pathways provide an inviting place for relaxation and quiet reflection. The rose garden also hosts tenant-sponsored workshops and activities and is a favored setting for special photos. One of the most important elements of the rose garden is the Inspirational Messages of Peace program. Students in selected K-12 public schools are invited to submit inspirational messages of peace as part of their curriculum. A panel of judges selects the best of these to be engraved on plaques displayed along the garden paths. These moving expressions of peace in children’s own voices are rotated every two years. Many sponsorship opportunities are still available to support the mission of the World Peace Rose Garden.

As visitors conclude the tour, they will carry with them more than the memory of color and fragrance. From heritage plantings to newly dedicated gardens, these roses remind us that beauty grows where care, patience and community meet. In a world that can often feel hurried, this tour offers the hope that when we tend what matters, everything really can come up roses.

Faye Fotini Spanos Rose Garden
Tucked away on the expansive grounds of Saint Basil Greek Orthodox Church on March Lane is a new rose garden planted in 2025, the Faye Fotini Spanos Rose Garden, commissioned by Dea Spanos Berberian in honor of her mother. Faye was a beloved member of the Greek Orthodox community in Stockton. Her patron saint in the Orthodox tradition was Saint Photini, which reflects her middle name, Fotini, Greek for “light.”

Faye also loved roses; pink ones were her favorites. Dea explained that their friends, Stuart and Stephanie Jacobs, had a special rose hybridized to honor Faye when she passed away in 2018. Pairing Faye’s namesake rose and her beloved church was a natural fit. This beautiful, contemplative space honors her legacy and provides a quiet place for prayer and meditation.

Since the original was created, Mike Graumann has had many of the Faye Spanos roses grafted. The Faye Spanos Rose is a delicate pink hybrid tea rose with touches of cream. Dea continues to have more grafted and gives them away to her friends, sharing a little part of Faye with everyone who loved her. The Faye Spanos Rose will also be available for purchase.

While guests are at Saint Basil, tours of the beautiful parish will be available.

Gerry Dunlap Rose Garden at the Haggin Museum
Known as the Gerry Dunlap Rose Garden, it is situated beside a lovely columned portico on the grounds of the Haggin Museum. The late Gerry Dunlap, along with Charles Lester, established Stockton Beautiful, a community-focused nonprofit dedicated to beautification in 1997. As the inaugural president of the organization, Gerry was the leading force behind the design and construction of this civic garden in Victory Park. It was officially dedicated in May 2007 as a community gift. The garden features dozens of varieties of roses.

Recently, the garden required revitalization and underwent a major transformation, completed in 2024, that included removing the original shrub roses and commemorating these roses and their donors with plaques creating a paved walkway. A selection of new varieties was chosen to emphasize those with long bloom periods, consistent reblooming, disease resistance and vibrant foliage. The new roses are also known for their delightful fragrances. Gerry’s garden continues to be maintained by Stockton Beautiful. The garden serves as a serene setting for small wedding ceremonies receptions and other gatherings for up to 100 guests. Have a perch on one of the inviting stone benches and bask in our plentiful Stockton sunshine while trying to choose your favorite among the stunning collection of roses.

Private Rose Garden of Gerry Dunlap
The private home of Jerry and Jane Butterfield is also closely connected to Gerry Dunlap. Jane is Gerry’s daughter and now lives in the home where she grew up. Their magnificent Bristol Avenue estate was built in 1935 by Jane’s grandfather. At that time there was nothing between his home and the University. The Butterfields’ traditional rose garden is lovingly tended by her talented gardener, Randy Wood.

On a recent stroll through the roses, now dormant and perfectly pruned, Randy gave me a bit of its history. Gerry loved roses and both ends of the current garden contain more than a dozen shrubs of each of her two favorites, planted decades ago. Medallion is a timeless, classic hybrid tea rose that has large blooms in a soft golden yellow to apricot color. The second, Double Delight, is one of the most beloved and recognizable roses, prized for its intoxicating spicy-sweet fragrance. In between there are more than 40 varieties of roses that were replanted in 2023 and organized by color into geometric plots set off by brick pathways. One notable, eye-catching variety is known as Ketchup and Mustard, a floribunda with bright red petals and a deep yellow reverse. Keeping watch over the roses from the center of the garden is a large, whimsical iron sculpture of a pig. Surrounding the pool behind the home are nine large pots filled with deep red roses. Randy explained that roses can thrive in large pots providing they get adequate water and are protected from overheated pots. He accomplishes this by a drip irrigation system and a two-layered container. Jane loves to clip her roses to enjoy in her home and share with friends.

The Rose Garden at Knoles Lawn
Another Stockton treasure is the rose garden located on the main quad of University of Pacific, just behind Burns Tower. The Rose Garden at Knoles Lawn is a quiet spot that enhances the campus’s overall beauty and timelessness. This garden is dedicated to Marjorie Webster Williams, a beloved local conservationist, and a bronze plaque asks visitors to “Remember her as someone who loved beauty in art and nature.” The Marjorie Webster Williams Endowed Art Scholarship continues her legacy of supporting education and the arts.

The rose garden is constructed in a formal quatrefoil design. Each boxed segment is surrounded by a neatly clipped hedge. Pathways surround it and meet in the center, which is adorned by a stone mosaic of the university’s seal. This piece of art was created in 1950 by Elaine Brink Stanley as a part of her MA in art. When the roses are in full bloom, students and visitors delight in the garden’s beauty. What a treat to discover these hidden gems of Stockton history while strolling through the beautiful Pacific campus.

Laurie Eager is the author and illustrator of In Papa’s Garden. A seeker of beauty every day, she loves adventure travel, all things French and dark chocolate. She lives in Stockton with her husband, Steve, and can be found most mornings enjoying a cup of coffee and the first rays of sunshine in their abundant vegetable garden.