Jim Keeter carefully walked the garden path, an 85-year-old customer at his elbow in search of a specific bloom. The octogenarian trekked to Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham to celebrate her birthday and acquire a tangible piece of her childhood.
“She was trying to find her grandmother’s rose,” Keeter says. At the back of her farmhouse her grandmother had a white rose—the same rose—on both sides of her back door.
“We walked around the rose rounds, and eventually we found that same rose for her to plant at her own back door.” It turned out to be an antique rose introduced in 1848 called Jeanne d’Arc.
Founded in 1983, the Antique Rose Emporium preserves and nurtures Old Garden Roses, introduces new varieties, and maintains a storybook garden drawing rose enthusiasts from around the world.
Old Garden Roses, also called antiques, are roses that were introduced before 1867. Over time, many of them were considered “lost” because they were no longer sold commercially, but they could be found thriving at abandoned homesteads and old cemeteries. Emporium founders Mike and Jean Shoup, with the help of the Texas Rose Rustlers, a group of plant enthusiasts founded in the late 1970s dedicated to preserving Old Garden Roses, scoured the countryside for these hidden beauties in the early 1980s.
“There were some old farmsteads that I saw pictures of where the house was leaning at a 35-degree angle, and the only thing holding the house up were the termites holding hands,” Jim says. “But [the Rustlers] would wade through all the weeds because there was a great big rose bush that was just thriving.”
The Rustlers would take a cutting to Mike, who would propagate them. “That’s how all of these old roses became found roses,” Jim says.
Jim and Kim Keeter bought the Emporium in 2022, and today the 8-acre nursery and display garden boasts 400 varieties of roses, 40 of which are antique. Jim says the roses are so well-suited for the Texas climate, soils, and growing conditions, they act like a native plant.
“You can be as persnickety with them as you want, but it’s not necessary,” he says. “They’re found on old farmsteads that haven’t had care in [decades], and they’re still doing their thing.”
Kim says they have a few varieties that are “a bit fussier,” but they encourage new gardeners to start with those labeled “beginner friendly.”
“We do try to serve multiple types of rose growers, whatever their level of expertise and interest is,” she says.
The best time to visit is October through mid-November or March through late May. It’s one of the few free and privately held botanical gardens, featuring paths that wind through a sea of roses, water features, and quiet pockets for reflection.
There are also historical buildings on-site, including a chapel. Kim estimates the Emporium has hosted thousands of weddings over the years in addition to other special events, including workshops, school field trips, and family reunions.
Whether guests come to buy roses, celebrate family events, or simply meander the grounds, the Antique Rose Emporium is etched on the hearts of generations.
“This place touches so many people’s lives and hearts, and they keep coming back,” Jim says. “And now that Kim and I are here, we get to be part of that, and it’s just really awesome.”
