Colorado Shakespeare Gardens
self-guided tour
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The Wars of the Roses Garden

Our Queen Elizabeth was a Tudor. Before the Tudors came the “Wars of the Roses”, which lasted from 1455 to 1485: thirty years of civil wars between two houses of royal blood, Lancaster and York. Their allies and followers wore roses as badges to declare where their loyalty was pledged.

The Wars of the Roses Garden

 

Before Henry VII came to the throne, England had been torn by 30 years of civil war. What we now think of as the History plays were a popular retelling of the nation’s heroes and villains, though war had divided families and loyalties for many years.

2024 UPDATE: Our Wars of the Roses garden is temporarily unavailable, due to reconstruction of the Hellems building. Plans are for the building and gardens to reopen starting spring 2026.

 

Special thanks to longtime CSF supporter and thespian Chuck Wilcox for voicing the part of The Bard in our video series. Full production credits available here. All photos copyright Colorado Shakespeare Group except those in the public domain, published under Creative Commons (CC) licensing. For more information on (CC) artwork in this video, click here.

enjoy this slideshow of the plants we have in our WArs of the Roses gardeN: