"Knowest thou the land where bloom the lemon trees,
And darkly gleam the golden oranges?
A gentle wind blows down from that blue sky;
Calm stands the myrtle and the laurel high.
Knowest thou the land? So far and fair!"
-- Goethe --

Conventional wisdom has it that California is Heaven for Rose Rustlers, and that the Northern half of the state holds the "Mother Lode" of California's Lost Roses.

Southern California, was plagued by drought, then as now. It was a difficult place for gardening until well into the 20th Century, when aqueducts brought cheap water from the North to the South. (The morals and ethics of that development are still being fought over after the better part of a century.) Gardening in the early days, we are told, involved hand-irrigation, and most gardening efforts are said to have been restricted to the useful, rather than the simply ornamental. We are assured as well that rampant development and burgeoning population have eliminated most of the early gardens that DID exist in Southern California.

All of that is true. Yet exceptions existed, and some of them still exist. By the mid-1860's, and probably even earlier, roses were grown in private Southern California gardens. Some of those plants are still alive, and in good health.

Shepherd's Gardens

In the 1850's, Californians could choose from long lists of roses, offered by a number of nurseries. Many of those nurseries were in Northern California. But, by 1888, Ventura boasted at least one fine nursery. Shepherd's Gardens, on a hillside overlooking the sea, offered an extensive inventory, which included a wide variety of roses.

Theodosia Burr Shepherd, was born in Iowa. At age 28, with her husband and four young children, she came to California "for her health." Though her husband was a respected attorney, he often served the poor of the area; when his clients couldn't afford to pay their legal fees, the family faced financial ruin.

To earn extra money, Mrs. Shepherd first sold crafts to residents and tourists, but in the early 188o's, when she was in her thirties, the enterprising Theodosia turned a piano crate into an impromptu greenhouse and began a flower seed business. By 1884, she was established as a grower of seeds and bulbs. By 1892, with eight acres under cultivation, she was sending seeds to customers in the East, and even in Europe. Theodosia Shepherd is considered today to have been the originator of California's cut flower and flower seed industries.

In 1888, only a few years after the business was established, Mrs. Shepherd offered 71 rose cultivars. By 1891, she offered 84 cultivars, the number increased to 92 in 1896.

A Shepherd's Gardens Catalog [tentatively dated to 1898] is preserved by the Ventura County Museum of History and Art. It tells us that Mrs. Shepherd sold most "large" rose plants for 50 Cents. Smaller plants went for a thrifty 25 Cents, with a discount was offered for volume sales.

Over the next half century, Mrs. Shepherd created some ground-breaking plants, and her nursery became a major tourist attraction in "Ventura-By-The-Sea." Best-remembered for her begonias, she was also the creator of the Superbissima petunia, and was active in the development and promotion of Calla lilies, Coalea scandans, Mexican orchids, and cacti. Though information on them is scanty, Mrs. Shepherd also bred roses – or, at least one rose: 'Oriole.'

Little is known about 'Oriole', but it is listed as a Hybrid Tea. It was known in commerce in 1910, but since Mrs. Shepherd died in 1906, it is probable that the rose was offered at an earlier date.

'Oriole' appeared again in the 1913 catalog, where it is described as having the "rich-hued color" of the Orange Groves and California Poppies that were a common sight in Ventura.

From the 1913 Descriptive Catalog Rare Plants, Choice Flower Seeds, Cacti and Succulents, Theodosia B. Shepherd Co. Ventura, California, U.S.A.

Shepherd's Gardens continued in existence for some years following the death of its founder, filling the area from Main Street to Poli Street with a block-long landscape of exotic plants and trees from around the world. A portion of the site is now occupied by the parking lot for the E.P. Foster Library, and some of Mrs. Shepherd's trees (though not, unfortunately, her roses) can still be seen there.

So — where have all the roses gone?

Might some of them still be found in the Ventura/Santa Barbara County area? Mrs. Shepherd sold many roses during her years in Ventura. Our climate is mild, much of our area retains its agricultural character, and several pioneer-era Ventura County families still live on their original farmland. We know of some older roses which continue to flourish here, and dare to speculate that more may still be found in Ventura County. We think "Sarah Moon's Rose" may be one of them.

"Sarah Moon's Rose"

Sarah Byrd, born Sept. 15, 1867 in Porterville, California was married at 18 to New-York-born Alphonso Moon. Together, the young couple helped to establish Ventura County's rich agricultural tradition.

The Moon's son, another Alphonso, died in his infancy, in 1897. When the child was buried in Ventura's St. Mary's Cemetery, his grieving mother brought home a rose cutting from the cemetery. Sarah planted the rose on the family farm, in memory of her son, and after 107 years, it still grows and blooms vigorously. "Sarah Moon's Rose" (which appears to be a mid-point between 'Maman Cochet' and 'Niles Cochet') is tended today by her great-grandson.