How it all began, rose garden, 1958

History - Newark

HOW IT ALL BEGAN (1958)

A lawyer's passion for gardening, some second hand church windows, and a book entitled "The Rose", were the main ingredients that started the inexorable march that began 86 years ago and developed one man's hobby into the world's largest rose growing business.

The Jackson & Perkins Co. of Newark, N.Y., is still largely a family concern with four members of the Perkins family active in top management. The President, Charles H. Perkins, bears the name of the company founder who was his uncle. The late Charles H. Perkins was trained to be a lawyer but his heart belonged to his favorite hobby, gardening. His spare time activities kept expanding so finally Mr. Perkins formed a partnership with his father-in-law, A.E. Jackson, to conduct a sideline business in gardening.

For a number of years they continued their informal partnership, raising berries and grapes for the local market. Meanwhile, grape cuttings were taken for sale to neighbors and nurserymen. This nursery operation 'finally took on the aspects of a full time business which was recognized in 1872 by the printing of letterheads reading, "The Jackson & Perkins Company." The business still was largely a one-man operation (Mr. Jackson never did take an active part), and all paperwork was handled by a neighbor who spent whatever time she could spare from household duties to write letters and mail bills.

Then one evening Mr. Perkins sat down to read a book by a pioneer in the nursery business. It was "The Rose", by H.B. Ellwanger of the Ellwanger & Barry Nurseries in Rochester. When he put the book down Mr. Perkins also put aside all thoughts of briefs, wills and depositions. The desire to grow roses and other ornamental nursery stock that was fired that day continued throughout his life. A man of great drive and energy, he was unwilling to let his own zeal pass on with his death so he called on his brother, Herbert D. Perkins of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and pointed out the opportunities that awaited a boy who was willing to work long hours and undergo a rigorous apprenticeship. Today, his four nephew who joined him while in their teens now operate the world's largest rose growing concern. They are: Charles H. Perkins, president; Clarence G. Perkins, vice-president and president of Jackson & Perkins Co. of California; Ralph E. Perkins, treasurer and sales manager; and Carroll E. Perkins, manager of sales in metropolitan New York.

The lone greenhouse that Mr. Perkins had used for propagating new stock proved inadequate so when a Newark church was rebuilt its second hand windows were bought and used to construct a second greenhouse that is still used and stands near the modern structures in which present-day research is conducted.

Because every rose grower dreams constantly of ever-better varieties Mr. Perkins hired a rose hybridist, E. Alvin Miller, and began a program that soon bore fruit. In 1908 Mr. Miller developed a new climbing rose which was named "Dorothy Perkins" after Mr. Perkins' granddaughter.

Soon afterwards the National Rose Society of Great Britain awarded the Nickerson Cup to the Jackson & Perkins Co. for "the raisers of the best pink climbing rose blooming in clusters." The Dorothy Perkins immediately became popular here and abroad. A favorite in Australia and New Zealand, it has been seen by travelers in Persia, China and India. On a visit to England in 1913 the present head of the company saw "literally miles of pillars in the Windsor

Castle estate with Dorothy Perkins roses that in some instances grew as high as twenty feet."

This success in hybridizing new roses was further enhanced by the work of Dr. J.H. Nicholas who joined the company as research director in 1930. A native of France, Dr. Nicholas had an international reputation as a scientist and was the author of the "Rose Manual", a standard reference book in English speaking countries. A graduate of the University of France and of the Military College of St. Cyr, he was the youngest captain in the French Army until an injury to his eyesight forced him out of service and to his first love, horticulture. He was subsequently made a Knight of the Legion of Honor of France for his scientific work. When he died in 1937 his body was cremated and the urn of ashes buried beneath the roses he loved.

Since 1937 the research program has been directed by Eugene S. Boerner, plant research director, who has had more roses patented under his name than any other man in history. His most notable work has been in the development of the floribunda rose, which is one of the most popular types of roses today. This class of roses was named and introduced by the Jackson & Perkins Co. and has been popularized to the extent that it is now equal in importance to the older hybrid tea rose.

Under the direction of President Charles H. Perkins, who became head of the company in 1928, the firm has expanded rapidly until it now has nurseries in Shiloh, New Jersey; Richmond, Indiana; as well as Newman, California and Phoenix.

For many years the company operated exclusively as a wholesale nursery. Due to the stimulus of the New York World's Fair (1939-40) and the interest of those who saw the Jackson & Perkins display, "Parade of Modern Roses", the company decided to enter the retail phase of the business. The company now mails more than 1.5 million full-color catalogs to.its customers.

Realizing the interest of the public in seeing roses grown at their best, as evidenced by the crowds who formerly visited the J & P test gardens on Madison St., Jackson & Perkins management built a 17 acre rose garden that is a half-million dollar showcase for the top roses available to the home gardener today. Within the Rose Garden, which is open to the public free of charge from June till fall, are more than 36,000 rose bushes arranged in both formal and informal plantings. This garden has been the scene for a series of rose festivals that annually draw some half-million visitors from every state of the Union.

Compared with some 100 employees in 1914 the company now has about 1,200 with the west coast ranches employing between 100 and 600 workers to seasonal needs.

The garden features an amphitheater where concerts are given during the annual Rose Festival, June 24 to July 2, 1967. A J & P, visitors can experience the rare pleasure of acres and acres of lush lawn, without a single "keep off the grass" sign in evidence. Photographers can photograph. Youngsters can dabble in* the spilling water fountain or just run off the energy. It's a family place for sitting, sunning, walking, and above all, for delighting in the most spectacular display of the world's most beloved flowers, by the largest growers of roses in the world.

top of page
return to history index