Clichés abound about the scent of roses. You’re supposed to stop and smell them, the implication being that you shouldn’t become too busy to enjoy the little things in life. Shakespeare wrote in “Romeo and Juliet” that roses would smell just as sweet if they went by any other name.

Regardless how one feels about how sweet roses actually smell, there’s no denying that few things look as nice as a well-tended rose garden. And thanks to the Suffolk Master Gardeners and the city and its Department of Tourism, there is now one growing at a popular downtown attraction.

The Suffolk Seaboard Station Railroad Museum was beautified with a new rose garden on Oct. 12. It was a project that has been under varying levels of consideration for several years, and we’re glad it finally came to fruition.

The Master Gardeners, as their name indicates, are experts at their craft and are the perfect partners on this project for the Department of Tourism. The group maintains several other gardens around the city, mostly on public property, to encourage pollinators, attract butterflies, provide a demonstration garden for children’s activities and to welcome visitors to different city parks and buildings, and their contributions certainly do not go unnoticed.

The Suffolk Master Gardeners were grateful to Bennett’s Creek Nursery for donating the David Austin roses and soil, and to the city of Suffolk for the mulch.

We thank all who contributed to this project to enhance the natural beauty of our city.