Sacramento City Historic Cemetery – Roses and Perennials

While in Sacramento, I visited the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery (or Old City Cemetery). I had planned to visit the Native Plant Society demo garden in Sacramento, as part of my winter garden viewing project, and was surprised to learn that the NPS garden is actually integrated with the cemetery. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but was intrigued with the idea – mixing a Victorian era burial ground, with Sacramento gold rush history and beautiful plants. What could be more enticing!

Old City Cemetery in Sacramento - graves, history, and plants!

The Sacramento City Cemetery was established in 1849, with a 10-acre land donation by Captain John Sutter. The cemetery design is based on the Victorian Garden style, and is a series of “raised beds” for burial plots (not surprising given the city’s history of flooding). Over the last 150 years the cemetery has expanded to 44 acres. The cemetery includes a historic rose garden, which includes old or antique roses that were popular in the Gold Rush era (1850 – 1915). They were originally brought by settlers and pioneers, and then later collected from road sides, home sites, and cemeteries. My visit was too early to see the blooms, but I enjoyed seeing the “winter bones” of the rose garden.

  Graves and roses - with an iron trellis in the background

   Victorian draped marker - with rose bushes in the foreground

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The cemetery also includes perennial plantings among the headstones, crypts, and chapels, centering on the Hamilton Square Perennial Garden. It was a pleasure to see the perennial plantings, evident even in winter.

Rosemary and headstones

Geranium and raised beds

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