One of the undeniable highlights of any visit to The New York Botanical Garden is a walk through the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden.

The beautiful, awardwinning garden, featuring over 3,500 rose plants and more than 600 varieties, was designed in 1916 by the eminent landscape architect (and niece of Edith Wharton) Beatrix Jones Farrand. But it was only in 1988, through a generous gift from David Rockefeller in honor of his wife, Peggy, that the original design of the trailblazing Farrand was fully realized.

But the Rose Garden is far more than just a beautiful place. Under the watch of curator Peter Kukielski, it is being transformed into one of the most diseaseresistant rose gardens in the world. Kukielski and his staff have spent the past two years culling highmaintenance roses from the garden, replacing them with more than 1,700 varieties chosen for their disease resistance and ease of care. In addition, the rose garden staff have been conducting an EarthKind Roses trial in an effort to pinpoint the roses best suited to Northeastern growing conditions