Previously published in the May 2025 issue of The Villager newsletter.

While most future residents planning the move to Covenant Village are focused on what to do with their furniture and other valuables, Mildred and George Manning had a very nonconventional consideration: What to do with their rose bushes.

The roses were celebrated in Gastonia’s Armstrong Park neighborhood and enjoyed by friends, family, and the congregation at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. When the time came for the move to their cottage at Covenant Village, George and Mildred decided to bring the rose bushes with them to their new home.

Tom Efird, a rosarian, had a rose garden with his wife, Anne, that contained 75 rose bushes in three flower beds. For several years, he had assisted with pruning the rose bushes for Mildred before the Mannings’ move to Covenant Village. He retained that springtime ritual for the next few years after the move.

“Every year, in February, I would get the call from Mildred as a reminder that it would soon be time to prune the rose bushes. We would discuss the need to wait until after the last frost, and that sometime in late April would be the best time to do the pruning,” Tom explained. “Mildred was an excellent grower of roses. The problem is that we grow old before our roses do.”

Gerald Deal, a neighbor in a nearby cottage, said he very well remembers Mildred’s almost daily routine of rising early to water the rose bushes in her yard at Covenant Village. “Mildred always said that roses need to be watered early in the morning so that the moisture is gone before the sun goes down.”

When Mildred was preparing to move from her cottage to an apartment, she learned that the new residents moving into the cottage would need to remove the rose bushes to make room for more parking. After having a conversation with her family, Mildred decided to move most of the rose bushes to a new site near an entrance to the Health Center. As Gerald explains it, this location is perfect for the roses to thrive under his watchful eye and commitment to care for the bushes. In addition, The Perfect Rose, a company based out of Salisbury, NC, sends someone to check on the roses every two weeks and to make recommendations for their care.

When Gerald’s late wife, Suzanne, became very ill and he needed to concentrate on her care before her passing, Tom Efird, along with Suzanne Whitesides, stepped in again to tend to the rose bushes. “We rose growers have a strong bond,” Tom said. “Suzanne and I still pitch in when Gerald needs to be out of town.”

The roses have a long blooming season – from late April through October or early November. It is during the growing season that Gerald daily checks on the bushes and harvests the roses while they are still budding.

Gerald has a cabinet in the Health Center’s coffee shop that is dedicated to the supplies he needs to cut the roses and put them in vases. “I am not a flower arranger,” he explained. “But I am a Master Gardener, and it brings me great joy to be able to distribute these roses at Covenant Village in some of the dining and living areas, along with the mailroom.” He further explained that at times, he will learn that a resident might need the boost that can come from receiving a bud vase with one of Mildred’s roses.

Mildred’s family shared that it brings much happiness to them to know that the roses are still being enjoyed by Covenant Village residents. “And we are grateful to Gerald; he is the lifeline for the roses.”

With a twinkle in his eye, a bright smile on his face, and a gentle pat on the head of his dog, Jack, Gerald reflected, “These roses have led to many good friendships here for Jack and me. We enjoy our visits and the chance to brighten someone’s day with Mildred’s roses.”

—Debbie Windley of Windmark Consulting

Photo: Covenant Village’s “Rose Lady” Mildren Manning (1921–2021) holding a vase with one of her roses. A vase of Ms. Manning’s roses graces the Resident Mail Center table.

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Leaving a Legacy

There are many creative ways to leave a legacy at Covenant Village. If you would like to talk with someone about your charitable estate plans and how Covenant Village might benefit, please contact Dale Melton, CEO, or Debbie Windley of Windmark Consulting, who are working with the Legacy of Care Committee to build the Legacy of Care giving program to support residents, staff, and the future of Covenant Village.