April 2019 Park of the Month: Hampton Park
This spring brought the grand opening of Rose Pavilion in Hampton Park. The special occasion featured remarks from Mayor John Tecklenburg, Harry Lesense, Executive Director of the Charleston Parks Conservancy, and Jenny K. Messner, co-founder and trustee of The Speedwell Foundation, which made the transformation of the Rose Pavilion possible. To memorialize the occasion, Mayor Tecklenburg and the Messners unveiled a new plaque at the steps of the Rose Pavilion, honoring the contributions of The Speedwell Foundation and the park design legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted
Now that the warmer weather has made its way back to Charleston, it is the perfect time to visit the Rose Pavilion and admire the surrounding green space in all of its floral beauty. The pavilion is a sight to behold thanks to the long and hard hours put in by our horticulture team and our park angels. Our volunteers had spent almost two weeks on site planting more than 2,000 plants in time for the grand opening.
The Rose Pavilion houses a variety of different plants, but the main attraction are the titular roses that surround the pavilion. “We’d gotten a lot of questions about where specifically the roses were going to be,” said Jim Martin, Director of Programming for the Charleston Parks Conservancy, speaking before the grand opening, “To tell you the truth they’re going to be everywhere!” The complete list of Roses includes over a dozen different species of Roses including Belinda’s Dream, Blue Noisette, Don Juan, Enchantress, and more.
“By the time fall and or next spring rolls around the roses will have the chance to root in and be truly stunning,” added Jim. To catch a glimpse of what flowers are currently in bloom click our photo gallery below.
On April 28th Sunday Brunch in Hampton Park returns at Rose Pavilion. Sunday Brunch offers a relaxing afternoon of music and mimosas featuring local artist The Bluestone Ramblers from 11 AM to 2 PM. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. All proceeds from this event support our work to keep Charleston parks like Hampton Park beautiful. To learn more click here.
Whether it’s with us for Sunday Brunch or the next time you’re in Hampton Park be sure to visit the new Rose Pavilion this spring!