Paul and Alice Scheetz Memorial Rose Garden

General Marshall and Katherine enjoyed growing flowers. Katherine had a strong affinity for roses. She created a dedicated rose garden on the north side of the house in the middle of the driveway turnaround where she grew red and pink roses. The rose garden was situated so she could see it from her bedroom window. She outlined the garden with American Boxwoods.  These were 18” tall when she planted them. Inside the rose garden, she laid out two brick walkways that ran north to south. In the center, she placed a bird bath. At the east and west ends of the rose garden are surprise lilies that bloom each year.  

In 1944, the Jackson and Perkins Nursery honored Katherine by naming a rose in her honor. The Katherine T. Marshall rose was the All-American Winning Pink Rose that same year!   

The ground beneath the rose garden contained an icehouse in the early years of Dodona.   There is also an entrance to an underground cistern that catches water draining from the house gutters. The driveway turnaround was added by the Marshalls in 1948, when they changed the entrance to the property to Edwards Ferry Road. The original entrance was from Route 7 (East Market Street).   

By 2006, the rose garden had badly deteriorated. The boxwoods were over six feet tall and many of the roses had died. Restoration began in 2006 with a generous donation from the Rust Foundation, run by John and Peggy Rust. The Rusts have been longtime supporters of Dodona Manor and the George C. Marshall International Center. At the recommendation of the Rusts’, the rose garden was named in honor of Paul and Alice Scheetz. The Scheetzes were friends of the Marshalls, John was an artillery captain in the U.S. Army in World War II.  

Today, the garden is full of roses. We have a variety of red, pink, orange, and yellow roses.   Beyond the normal watering and weeding, we spray weekly to control rose midge and prevent significant damage. We fertilize with a granular rose fertilizer beginning in Spring. Then every 2-3 months we use a 3-in-1 application of a product that is a combination of fertilizer, insecticide and fungicide. We also try to do a liquid feed several times a season. After September, all feeding stops so the roses can begin dormancy. 

General Marshall and Katherine’s grandson, Alan T. Brown, Jr., working in the rose garden. Notice how small the boxwoods are on the outer edges of the garden.