I had two places to visit on my itinerary this morning. First up was the Wilson, NC, Public Rose Gardens. I didn’t figure there would be much blooming at this time in October, but boy was I surprised!
These rose gardens are open every day of the year, sunrise to sunset and they’re free. I was really surprised to see so many roses in bloom, and their fragrance just permeated the air.
As you walk through the 1200 rose plants of about 180 different varieties in the garden, there are lots of benches along the way to sit on and enjoy the views. Roses have never been one of my favorite cultivated flowers, but I may just have to change my mind after this morning’s experience.
One of the nice things about visiting these areas at this time of the year is that there are no crowds of people. It was just me and the bees in the garden today. 
The rose garden is maintained entirely by a group of local volunteers that are members of the Wilson Deadhead Society. They each commit to come out to the gardens every week to cut the deadheads (spent blooms) from their adopted rose plant section. There is also a very nice picnic area located facing the gardens and under the shade of large pine trees.
 |  |
A tall, large Vollis Simpson Whirligig is located on one side of the rose garden. Investigating these whirligigs was the second thing on my itinerary for the day, but my adventure concerning the whirligigs rightly deserves a post of its own. I’ll leave that for tomorrow night. I’m very happy I decided to extend my stay in Wilson. I have at least four more places I want to visit before I leave on Sunday. I guess stopping to ‘smell the roses’ also means taking the time to enjoy the uniqueness of every little area of our country. It’s a great journey I’m on…
Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later, Judy
