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 The Walsh Catalog of Roses |
Michael Walsh, born in Wales, arrived in the United States in 1868 when he was 27 years old. He had already earned an education in horticulture and was an experienced gardener before his arrival. By the turn of the century, after working under several employers in this country, he was the caretaker and head gardener of the Joseph S. Fay estate in Woods Hole. He ran a very successful rose business from greenhouses on the Fay family property with the encouragement of Mr. Fay and in partnership his daughter, Sara B. Fay. The Fay house, with the large beds of roses behind serving as test gardens and a repository for the roses used in the hybridizing, was located at the head of little harbor. The house is still there, although the gardens are long gone. It is now part of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and is called Challenger House. Between Challenger house and the Woods Hole Historical Museum is a small memorial garden that includes a dedication stone where five of Mr. Walsh's roses are on display along a split rail fence. Mr. Walsh, although famous for his development of the Cape Cod rambler roses, also cultivated other types of roses particularly hybrid teas which were, at the time, just beginning to become popular. He was the recipient of the Gold Medal for the hybrid perpetual 'Jubilee,' introduced in 1897 and during his rose career was the recipient of numerous First Prizes, Certificates of Merit and four Silver Medals. He was an active member of the American Rose Society and many mentions of him can be found in their journal The American Rose Annual. |
