{"id":39756,"date":"2025-11-05T21:51:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T21:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/39756\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T21:51:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T21:51:11","slug":"oakland-rose-garden-fundraising-after-51-bushes-were-stolen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/39756\/","title":{"rendered":"Oakland rose garden fundraising after 51 bushes were stolen"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">We work for you, reporting on the stories Oakland needs. Our newsroom works diligently to examine systems, not symptoms, and to help you get the most out of the city we all love.\u00a0<br \/>With your help, we can tell all of Oakland\u2019s stories. Chip in today to support your local nonprofit newsroom.<\/p>\n<p>Oakland\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oaklandca.gov\/Community\/Parks-Facilities\/Rent-a-Facility-or-Park\/Morcom-Rose-Garden\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Morcom Rose Garden<\/a>, a collection of thousands of showy shrubs and vines tucked away in a amphitheater setting in the Grand Lake neighborhood, was recently vandalized by thieves who stole 51 rose bushes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\">Never miss a story. Sign up for The Oaklandside\u2019s free daily newsletter.<\/p>\n<p>The Oct. 16 theft wasn\u2019t the first time plants at the city park have been damaged or stolen. However, according to Nancy Friedman, a volunteer gardener who helps tend and prune the collection, this most recent incident was especially upsetting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVolunteers and city staff are very discouraged because of the many years of hard work put into collecting, grafting, establishing, and labeling the plants that were destroyed that night, leaving empty holes in the ground,\u201d Friedman wrote in the <a href=\"https:\/\/splashpad.org\/major-rose-bush-theft-at-morcom-rose-garden\/#:~:text=2025%20November%2C%20Nancy%20Friedman,to%20friendsofoaklandrose@gmail.com.\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Splashpad News<\/a>, where the theft was first reported.<\/p>\n<p>Friedman wrote that the shrubs were pulled up by the roots without any digging, meaning many of them will likely die.<\/p>\n<p>Garden volunteers are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/oakland\/comments\/1oos81l\/tragic_and_extensive_destruction_to_the_morcom\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">urging the public<\/a> to be watchful and report anyone who steals or damages plants.<\/p>\n<p>Friends of the Morcom Rose Garden, which coordinates the volunteers who do most of the work to take care of the garden, alongside city parks staff, are also <a href=\"https:\/\/friendsofoaklandrose.org\/donate\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">raising money<\/a> for supplies.<\/p>\n<p>Opened in 1934, the garden was named in honor of Oakland Mayor Fred Morcom in 1953. The seven-acre park has thousands of rose plants landscaped among fountains, stairs, benches, and walkways.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_3331.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/>A cascade water feature in Morcom Rose Garden. Darwin BondGraham<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_3327.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/>Morcom Rose Garden. Credit: Darwin BondGraham<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_3337.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/>A sign notifying park visitors that the park is under surveillance. Credit: Darwin BondGraham<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_3335.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/>A blooming Blush Noisette\u201d rose, bred in 1814 and one of the Morcom garden\u2019s many heirloom flowers. Credit: Darwin BondGraham<\/p>\n<p>\u2026 We have a small favor to ask.<\/p>\n<p>We work for you to provide free and independent journalism covering the stories that matter most in Oakland \u2013 and we rely on readers like you to make our work possible. That\u2019s why we\u2019re asking you to contribute to our year-end membership campaign today. We\u2019ve set a goal to raise $205,000 by Dec. 31 and we\u2019re counting on readers like you to help get us there.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Your support will enable us to continue doing the reporting Oakland needs. So, what do you say? Will you chip in today?<\/p>\n<p>\u2026 We rely on your support<\/p>\n<p>Hey, we know that most readers only scan a headline and a couple of paragraphs. Thank you for reading to the end of our story. Since you clearly appreciate the in-depth approach we take in reporting the stories that matter to Oaklanders, please consider chipping in to supercharge our newsroom. <\/p>\n<p class=\"gform_required_legend\">&#8220;*&#8221; indicates required fields<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We work for you, reporting on the stories Oakland needs. Our newsroom works diligently to examine systems, not&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39757,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[13799,27195,143,145,144],"class_list":{"0":"post-39756","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oakland","8":"tag-gardening","9":"tag-morcom-rose-garden","10":"tag-oakland","11":"tag-oakland-headlines","12":"tag-oakland-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}