The all-volunteer Rose Brigade has been taking care of the four rose beds in the Public Garden since 1988. Newcomers are always welcome -- Gloves, pruners, and instructions are supplied. This long-lived group is made up of men and women of all ages. "Try it... see if it makes you happy... no guilt... no meetings... one party once a year."

The Brigade meets at 5:30 pm every Tuesday June through September. We meet earlier as the days grow shorter. On Tuesday we begin at the Tiffany Bed. To find the rose beds think of the rectangular Public Garden as divided into four sections. Tiffany is aligned with the George Washington statue, in the quadrant bounded by Arlington and Boylston Streets. If you enter the Garden from the Commonwealth Avenue entrance, walk diagonally right to Tiffany. If you walk diagonally left you find Ether Bed, where we generally meet on Wednesday. The Ether bed is in the Arlington/Beacon Street quadrant, not far from the Ether monument. The two other rose beds are just inside the center Charles Street entrance, near the Edward Everett Hale statue. "Caring for the roses in this historic botanical garden is a privilege. With our hands we garden in the middle of a great city, rewarded by talking with passersby and greeted constantly by beautiful roses as they bloom throughout the summer in their own way, unique in the world." -- China Altman, leader.