A Magical Garden in the Hills: Roses of Yesterday and Today
Grab a cup of coffee on your way to visit Roses of Yesterday and Today. This magical garden is at the basin of the Byrne-MillironForest in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Free to the public and open from 9AM-4PM every day, the peaceful space is home to over 230 varieties of old, rare, unusual and selected modern roses.
How Roses of Yesterday & Today Came to Be:
In 1998, Jack Wiley and his wife Guinivere (Jenny), opened the garden to the public, offering potted roses every day. The magical garden honors the family nursery Jack grew up in.
The rose business itself was established by Francis E. Lester in the 1930s. It was to be the premier importer and breeder of roses in the U.S. The business continued under Will Tillotson from 1948 to 1957. Later it carried on by Jack’s grandmother, Dorothy Stemler until her passing in 1976. Patricia Stemler Wiley and her husband, Newton Wiley, (Jack’s parents) ran Roses of Yesterday for the next twenty years until they retired. The collection of historic rootstock makes up the rose garden.
Planning Your Magical Garden Visit:
The Roses of Yesterday and Today garden in open from 9AM-4PM daily. Free parking is available near the garden, at one of the forest entrances.
No bathrooms or services are available at the garden, so pack some snacks and drinks and score a seat at one of the few picnic tables on the property. Or, stop for provisions at the nearby Corralitos Market & Sausage Co. deli, where local Clint Eastwood is a superfan.
The garden is split into two sections, with the “Upper Garden” structured as a walk through time, starting with modern roses and going back to blooms from the Shakespearean era. Don’t miss the unusual varieties, like the striking Green Rose.
The garden is in the wilderness, at a forest entrance and is on a largely uneven surface. Closed toed shoes and mindful walking are recommended.
The garden is about 40 minutes north of Monterey, 20 minutes south of Santa Cruz, and one and a quarter hours south of San Francisco off Highway 1.
Can you buy roses at Roses of Yesterday and Today?
Jack + Jenny no longer ship plants, but you can purchase roses at their magical garden setting year round. Potted roses are available year round, with payments collected by the honor system in a payment box on the garden announcement board, so bring cash or a check. You can order bare root roses ahead of time from January-May.
