The Hartling Family Rose Garden Story 

Taking Time to Smell the Roses


An eye-catching rose garden at FVTC’s Appleton campus is attracting visitors thanks to a collaborative student project and longtime friend of the college.

Hartling Family Rose GardenThe beautiful new rose garden near Entrance 3 at FVTC’s Appleton campus is a living memorial to a very special man. “Bill Hartling was a dear friend to Fox Valley Technical College,” says Jim Beard, FVTC’s lead Horticulture instructor and landscape architect. Bill’s wife, Jeanne, who recently retired after 25 years as an employee at FVTC, approached Beard shortly after Bill’s passing in December of 2009. She said Bill wanted the college to have his roses.

Hartling, a Master Rosarian and the go-to guy for any and all questions about roses, had a wonderful collection of more than 200 roses. With the college administration’s blessing, Beard met with local rosarian Carl Christenson and Horticulture Technician student Vickie Bartman to plan and design a rose garden.

Since the designated spot was grass-covered and a former fill site laden with rubble, rock and different soils, Beard’s students spent all of May excavating planter beds and filling them with layers of topsoil and composted horse manure. Students then lifted, transported, and transplanted Hartling’s rose collection, a task made more difficult by unseasonably high temperatures and an excessive amount of rain that month. A trickle irrigation system and fertilizer attachment were added so the roses could be automatically watered and fed at the same time.

FVTC Horticulture students did all of the on-site work, which included laying the brick work for walkways and patios, as well as constructing two arbors, a pergola, a porch swing, and a lattice trellis. FVTC’s Automated Manufacturing Systems program and the Production Welding program in Oshkosh combined forces to create the two stainless steel signs and the patio's stone-cut rose.
Hartling Family Rose Garden

Bartman, 52, whose background is in design and art direction, threw her “whole heart and soul” into the project. In addition to the landscaping-related projects, she worked with other students to create and assemble nameplates for all the roses, and more. “Roses were Bill’s passion for over 30 years,” she says. “I wanted to be part of honoring Bill’s memory, his legacy, and the generosity of the Hartlings’ contribution to the college.”

Beard couldn’t be happier with the final result. “The rose garden is one of those places where you can go to reflect, smell the roses, and recharge your batteries,” he says. He cannot praise his students enough for their achievement. “The finest thing this garden represents is the quality and dedication of Fox Valley Tech students,” he says. “It’s because our students work across department lines to form partnerships that we are able to accomplish these kinds of projects.”
Appleton Campus photo

   Maintained by:

   Mark Staeven

   Last Modified:
   8/19/2011 10:28:40 AM