A Rose Sanctuary
Old City Cemetery is home to the largest public collection of heirloom roses in the Commonwealth of Virginia. There are over 425 different varieties planted throughout the grounds, representing all classes, habits, colors and fragrances of antique roses, or “Old Garden Roses”.
Our rose collection consists mostly of “Old Garden Roses”, and also includes roses introduced and popularized during the cemetery’s most active phase in the 1920’s through the 1930’s. An “Old Garden Rose” (or heirloom rose) belongs to a class of roses that existed before 1867, when the first Hybrid Tea rose was introduced into commerce.
The original antique rose collection was planted in 1986 along the 800-foot remains of the Cemetery’s old 1860’s brick boundary wall. The first 60 varieties planted by famous rosarian Carl Cato, represent rose history from before 1581 through the 19th century, and include the full range of classes and colors exhibited by these ancestors of modern-day roses. These plants were gathered from all over the United States and Canada, as well as local gardens.
Since 1986 many other varieties of antique roses have been planted throughout the 27-acre cemetery. Former Restoration Chairman and Cemetery Director Jane Baber White began planting an heirloom rose beside gravestones upon which a rose was carved. Historic Grounds Maintenance Manager, Zack Clifton and Rose Custodian and Gardener, Sandy Fisher, continue these traditions today. In 2026, the Polk Street Rose was renamed “Jane White’s Polk Street Rose” by a vote of the Southern Memorial Association’s Facilities, Operations and Horticulture Committee in collaboration with the Lynchburg Antiquarian Club.
The peak of rose bloom at Old City Cemetery is often in May, but we celebrate from mid-April to mid-May with our Antique Rose Festival. Visitors will find continuous scattered flowers throughout the summer until late Fall frosts. Even in Winter months, the great diversity of form and structure of many species is of horticultural interest, appearing sculptural in the landscape. Irrigation, compost, a regular feeding schedule and maintenance are provided as needed in season.
Most roses are botanically labeled at the site. The large groupings of roses include the following areas:
- Old Brick Wall (both sides)
- Carl Cato Garden
- Pest House Garden
- Shrub Garden
- Fourth Street Fence
Original Antique Rose Collection
This is the original list of roses planted inside the Confederate Section in 1986 by Carl Cato and Jane Baber White. They were planted in chronological order by their date of introduction.
| No. | Introduced | Name | Class |
| 1. | before 1581 | Rosa Mundi (R. gallica versicolor) | Species (Gallica) |
| 2. | before 1590 | Austrian Copper (R. foetida bicolor) | Species sport |
| 3. | before 1596 | R. moschata plena | Species |
| 4. | 1696 | Common Moss (Old Pink Moss) | Moss |
| 5. | before 1750 | Celsiana | Damask |
| 6. | before 1750 | Suaveolens | Alba |
| 7. | 1752 | Old Blush (Parson’s Pink China) | Chinensis |
| 8. | 1797? | Great Maiden’s Blush (R. alba incarnata) | Alba |
| 9. | 1804 | R. multiflora carnea | Species sport |
| 10. | 1811 | Champney’s Pink Cluster | Noisette |
| 11. | before 1814 | Chestnut Rose (R. roxburghii plena) | Species |
| 12. | 1817 | Seven Sisters (R. multiflora platyphylla) | Rambler (Hybrid multiflora) |
| 13. | 1827 | Félicité et Perpetue | Hybrid sempervirens |
| 14. | 1830 | Jaune Desprez (Desprez á Fleur Jaune) | Tea noisette |
| 15. | 1835 | Mme Plantier | Hybrid alba |
| 16. | 1835 (1850?) | Sombreuil | Tea |
| 17. | 1838 | Stanwell Perpetual | Hybrid spinosissima |
| 18. | 1839 | Safrano | Tea |
| 19. | 1840 | Cardinal de Richelieu | Gallica |
| 20. | 1840 | Hermosa | Chinensis |
| 21. | 1842 | Celine Forester | Tea noisette |
| 22. | 1842 | Baronne Prevost | Hybrid perpetual |
| 23. | 1843 | Comtesse de Murinais | Moss |
| 24. | 1843 | Souvenir de la Malmaison | Bourbon |
| 25. | 1843 | Baltimore Belle | Hybrid setigera |
| 26. | 1845 | Paul Ricault | Centifolia |
| 27. | 1850 | Fantin Latour | Centifolia |
| 28. | 1853 | Général Jacqueminot | Hybrid perpetual |
| 29. | 1853 | Gloire de Dijon | Tea noisette |
| 30. | 1857 | Duchess de Brabrant | Tea |
| 31. | 1860 | Reine des Violettes (Queen of Violets) | Hybrid perpetual |
| 32. | 1861 | General Washington | Hybrid perpetual |
| 33. | 1865 | Gloire de Ducher | Hybrid perpetual |
| 34. | 1867 | Boule de Neige | Bourbon |
| 35. | 1867 | La France | Hybrid tea (First) |
| 36. | 1868 | Zéphirine Drouhin | Bourbon |
| 37. | 1868 | Baroness Rothschild | Hybrid perpetual |
| 38. | 1869 | Paul Neyron | Hybrid perpetual |
| 39. | 1869 | Catherine Mermet | Tea |
| 40. | 1872 | La Reine Victoria | Bourbon |
| 41. | 1874 | Perle des Jardins | Tea |
| 42. | 1879 | Mme Alfred Carrier | Tea noisette |
| 43. | 1881 | Mme Isaac Perriere | Bourbon |
| 44. | 1884 | Perle d’Or | Polyantha |
| 45. | 1888 | Mme Ernst Calvat | Bourbon |
| 46. | 1888 | Striped Moss (Œillet Panachée) | Moss |
| 47. | 1890 | Roger Lamblin | Hybrid perpetual |
| 48. | 1893 | Marchioness of Londonderry | Hybrid perpetual |
| 49. | 1896 | Aglaia | Rambler |
| 50. | 1897 | Gruss an Teplit | Climbing hybrid tea |
| 51. | 1898 | Mrs. F.W. Sanford | Hybrid perpetual |
| 52. | 1898 | Santa Rosa | Chinensis |
| 53. | 1898 | Mme Louis Lévèque | Moss |
| 54. | 1898 | Mrs. Anthony Waterer | Hybrid rugosa |
| 55. | 1899 | Conrad Ferdinand Meyer | Hybrid rugosa |
| 56. | 1899 | R. hugonis | Species |
| 57. | 1899 | Gardenia | Large climber |
| 58. | before 1899 | Charles de Mills | Gallica |
| 59. | before 1900 | Belle Amour | Alba |
| 60. | before 1900 | Soleil d’Or | Hybrid foetida |
Roses in the Cato Collection
| Name | Date of Introduction | Class |
| Rosa Mundi | Before 1581 | Species (Gallica) |
| R. moschata plena (The Musk Rose) | Before 1596 | Species |
| Celsiana | 1750 | Damask |
| Old Blush (Old China Monthly) | 1752 | China |
| Champneys’ Pink Cluster | 1811 | Noisette |
| Tuscany | 1820 (1597) | Gallica |
| Marquis Bocella | 1842 | Hybrid Perpetual |
| Souvenir de la Malmaison | 1843 | Bourbon |
| Bella Donna | 1848 | Damask |
| Cecile Brunner (Sweetheart Rose) | 1881 | Polyantha |
| Mary Washington | 1891 | Noisette |
| Charles de Mills | Before 1899 | Gallica |
| Hansa | 1905 | Hybrid Rugosa |
| Aviateur Bleriot | 1910 | Rambler |
| La Marne (From his grandmother’s garden) | 1915 | Polyantha |
| ‘Alex Mosby Pink’ (Study name for found rose) | Unknown | Unknown |
