About us
At Old Sheep Meadows Nursery, we have been growing organic roses for over 60 years! The roses we grow are superior plants, well adapted to the growing conditions in northern New England, including the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts. We take pride in using organic methods. It is very important to us that our agricultural effort is local and sustainable. It takes up to six years to grow high quality plants in Maine, making our quantities limited. We are craftsmen, growing plants using hands-on organic methods. We are the only hybridizers and growers of our own root roses in Maine and New England. All of our roses are on their own roots. Our standards are high and our output is relatively low compared with other producers who use commercial agricultural methods. We recommend early shopping, preferably in May or June when we have the best selection. However, we will have quality roses all summer. You can be successful with roses no matter what month you plant them. We will tell you how to do it, guide you and provide expert advice as needed.
Raymond Graber, Rosarian & Ecologist has been tending roses since he was a child. Growing up in Ohio, his mother saw that he had a knack for gardening at a young age and encouraged him in that. From Ohio, he went to the University of Washington to further his education in forestry and botany. Raymond has made Southern Maine his home for 60 years and counting! His first career was as a researcher at the University of New Hampshire. Meanwhile, he tended his rose gardens and mastered the art of growing roses that not only survive, but thrive despite the harsh New England weather. Once retired from his first career, Raymond couldn’t just sit still, so he started Old Sheep Meadows Nursery! Growing organic roses sustainably is his passion and he wants to share that with others. Raymond often will host events and workshops to share what he has learned.
This is what he has to say about Growing Roses in a Cold Climate.
“Exposing the fragile buds of a young rose bush to the severe climate of Northern New England may seem cruel or simply foolish. Most New Englanders, known for their practicality, have not even attempted to grow roses. Those who love roses have bought them at supermarkets or big box retailers only to see them die during their first Winter. Finding a rose that can shake off a stormy winter’s worth of snow in the Spring and burst into bloom in the short New England Summer may seem like a rose-lover’s search for the impossible. In actuality, one need look no further than Grandmother’s garden. She knew the secret- antique roses! We specialize in hardy Canada Roses, English Roses and best of all, the very fragrant, extra hardy Heirloom Roses that Great Grandmother grew. All of these varieties are great choices for northern gardens. We welcome your visit to the Nursery and our gardens, take time to stop and smell the roses!
Our roses are not the kind of roses that are grown in the California sunshine and shipped to the big chain stores around the country. Some of our roses were planted in England as early as the 11th century, long before the advent of pesticides and the intensive methods of the California corporate farms. These roses are the survivors. Old Sheep Meadows Nursery offers more than 200 varieties of roses which have been tested in our own gardens and selected for Winter hardiness, beauty and fragrance. We welcome you to come and see just how practical growing roses in Maine can be.