The Rose Garden on the north side of the High Street has always been listed as one of the Wavertree Society's finest achievements. The Society was founded in 1977, and the following year we entered a competition, organised by Merseyside Improved Houses (which later became Riverside housing association) to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The birth of the Rose Garden was documented in some of our early Newsletters:

No.9 (Apr.1979): "The Society's  entry was awarded Second Prize in the Merseyside Improved Neighbourhood competition … Merseyside Improved Houses are to distribute the £6000 prize money among the three winning schemes ..."

No.11 (Aug.1979): "'From Rubbish Dump to Rose Garden', the title of our prizewinning entry in the Merseyside Improved Neighbourhood competition is shortly to become a reality … our landscaping scheme for the site alongside Rose Cottage has been allocated funds by the City Council under Operation Clean-up … This means that a very high standard of landscaping - using turf instead of grass-seed, and semi-mature trees instead of saplings - will be possible … M.I.H. have engaged professional landscape architects to draw up the plans (which in fact follow our suggested layout very closely) and hope to carry out the work during September and October".

No.13 (Nov.1979): "We are pleased to announce that … the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor Doreen Jones, will be visiting Wavertree High Street on Tuesday afternoon, 4th December, to declare the Rose Garden officially open. … The ceremony … will include the planting of two trees to complete the landscaping scheme: one planted by the Lord Mayor herself and the other by pupils from Our Lady of Good Help and Trinity District primary schools. … And afterwards, the Rose Garden is OURS, and it is up to us to see that it stays a peaceful and attractive spot to sit in and walk across. Routine maintenance will be carried out by the City Council, but we have been invited to help with litter collection and to keep an eye on the trees and shrubs. We may decide to draw up a rota of people willing to look after the Garden; if you would like to volunteer, please let any Committee member know".

Forty years on - thanks, in large part, to the voluntary efforts of Joyce and John Edwards - the Rose Garden is still flourishing.