Snohomish family’s roses have adorned Sorticulture for 16 years

See more about Sorticulture’s special events, food, kids’ activities and music here.

Make sure you stop to smell the roses at Sorticulture. Literally.

Antique Rose Farm, a Snohomish-based nursery that specializes in old garden roses, has been a mainstay at Everett’s annual garden art festival for 16 years.

Jackie and Jeff McElhose, a mother-and-son duo, have enjoyed watching Sorticulture grow. Now in its 21st year, the three-day event draws upwards of 15,000 to Legion Memorial Park for art, flowers, music, food and gardening gear.

“We love roses,” Jackie said. “I got interested in the old roses because we had the old farm. I hadn’t even thought about roses except for having a few in the garden. Then look what happened — it exploded.”

Antique Rose Farm is a family business. Jackie, 81, owns the nursery. Her children and grandchildren help run the farm.

The former dairy farm, at 12220 Springhetti Road, features a farmhouse, built in 1906, and barn, built in 1937. The farm was turned into a speciality rose nursery 23 years ago, and now has a greenhouse, gift shop and acres of rose gardens.

“We have all kinds of roses,” said Jeff, 56, who manages the business. “We have probably over 400 varieties. That’s just a guess. We might have the most roses in the Northwest. Most places don’t specialize in roses.”

Roses run in the family.

“My mom did roses, both my grandmas did roses,” Jackie said. “I was always out gardening with my mom and my grandmas. My son loves gardening, too.”

The McElhoses also have an affinity for antiques — and not just the old garden roses that have been around since before 1867.

The family has been in the antique business for more than 45 years. She and her late husband, Don, ran an antique store in Shoreline for about 15 years. When they moved to the farm, they sold that shop and opened another in Snohomish.

“She was in the antique business, and I did the restoration for them, so it was a natural thing,” Jeff said of selling antique roses. “We love plants.”

Although they closed the store about 10 years ago, they continue to sell antiques out of the barn.

Jackie’s oldest son, Scott, 58, helps his brother with antique restoration work, and Jeff’s son, Taylor, 26, and daughter-in-law Aryn, 25, help water, propagate, pot and sell the roses.

In addition to a variety of roses, Jackie and Jeff will be selling perennials, annuals, hanging baskets, repurposed planters and birdhouses at booth No. 62 in the park.

With so many varieties of roses, do they have any favorites?

Jeff’s favorite is Jude the Obscure, an apricot rose by noted British rose breeder David Austin.

“When it first goes into bloom it has 100-plus blooms on it,” he said.

Jackie doesn’t have a favorite rose. “I like them all.”

She’ll occasionally cut two or three roses to put into a vase, but never a bouquet. After all, all she has to do is visit her garden to see — and smell — entire bushes of roses.

More information about Antique Rose Farm is at www.facebook.com/antique.r.farm.

Sara Bruestle: 425-339-3046; sbruestle@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @sarabruestle.

If you go

The free Sorticulture Garden Arts Festival is at Legion Memorial Park, 145 Alverson Blvd., Everett. The three-day event has numerous art, garden and food booths.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 9; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 10; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 11.

Park for free at Everett Community College, 2000 Tower St., and take the Everett Transit shuttle bus from the Student Fitness Center. The shuttle bus also is free. A bus picks up or drops off every 15 minutes. Limited disabled parking available at the park.

Or ride your bicycle to the festival and let Sharing Wheels watch your bike, helmet and shoes for you.

Find inspiration at display gardens by Two Green Thumbs Miniature Garden Center; and Planscapes and Complete Landscape Inc.

Housing Hope will hold your purchases for you while you stroll the festival, or go get your vehicle to pick them up. Don’t forget to grab a pick-up pass. Suggested $5 donation.

Live music is scheduled all weekend in the wine and beer garden. See The Herald’s A&E section on Friday for the lineup.

Gardening guru Ciscoe Morris is scheduled to speak from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Poster artist Kimberly Williams Mattson will be signing posters and selling greeting cards in the wine garden 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 10 and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 11.

Miniature gardener Janit Calvo also will be signing her latest book, “The Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop,” and have a make-it, take-it booth so you can create your own miniature garden. Prices start at $35.

Kids activities include face painting, flower pot planting and decorating, wood carving and — new this year — a sandbox by the playground.

Tour the Evergreen Arboretum & Gardens, found at the south end of the park. The arboretum has 10 themed-gardens with sculptures and a gazebo.

The Snohomish County Master Gardeners and the Snohomish County Noxious Weed Control Board will have informational booths.

For more information, go to everettwa.gov/sorticulture.