Portland International Rose Test Garden

Inside Washington Park in Portland, Oregon, United States, there is a rose garden called The International Rose Test Garden. There are over 7,000 rose plants of around 550 varieties. The roses bloom from April through October at their peak in June, depending on the weather. From many parts of the world, new rose cultivars are continually sent to the garden and are tested for color, fragrance, disease resistance and other attributes. It is the oldest existing public rose test garden in the United States. Portland thus wins the nickname of the City of Roses.

The International Rose Test Garden covers 4.5 acres (18,000 m2) in several tiers facing downtown Portland, the Willamette River and East Portland. On clear days there are views ofthe Cascade Mountains, with prominently Mount Hood.

There is an amphitheater which hosts many events throughout the year, for example, classical music concerts. During good weather the amphitheater is popular with picnickers and people throwing the disc around. It is interesting to find is a brick walkway at the side of the garden called The Queens Walk with a bronze star honoring each Rose Festival queen since 1907.

To mention here, in particular, the Royal Rosarian Garden has paid tribute since 1924 to the goodwill ambassadors and official greeters who serve in the many Rose Festival events. As each rosarian is knighted, they adopt a rose variety as their namesake. A rose is planted in this garden for each of the highest ranking Rosarian Prime Ministers. This garden-within-a-garden contains many roses which are no longer available in the market.

The central photo shows a small brick house with rest-rooms surrounded by fragrance of roses. Do you like it?