Bethlehem’s Rose Garden has been a place of beauty in the past, an environment that attracts wedding parties, graduates and others for photos among the variety of different colored roses. Of late, less maintenance by the city government has meant that weeds fill the flower beds and some rosebushes are diseased and need to be removed.

On June 13, 30 volunteers, captained by City Council President Adam Waldron, began tackling a clean-up of the rose beds. One volunteer was Nate Fisher, interim president of the Bethlehem based Lehigh Valley Rose Society. Fisher said he had identified about 20 plants with rosette’s disease.

Residents spent time pulling weeds and tilling the soil. Once readied, the beds will be mulched and nourished to promote better growth of the rose bushes. Councilman Michael Colon, a Westside Bethlehem resident like Waldron, also pitched in, lugging bags of weeds to a collection point.

With effort, participants hoped to be able to restore the City’s Rose Garden to its former beauty.

“We saw the need and thought it was a great opportunity for people to come out and lend a hand,” Waldron said.