Everything's rosey in Washington Park!

When we first arrived at Portland, Oregon, our friends wanted to know what we would like to see. Our request was that they show us their Portland, the places to which they go for joy and inspiration.

So on a hot, September morning we headed up a curvy, hillside road through shady trees to Washington Park, the site of the International Rose Test Garden.

 

Wikipedia captures the concept of this rose garden well:

“The International Rose Test Garden is a rose garden in Washington Park in Portland, Oregon, United States. There are over 7,000 rose plants of approximately 550 varieties. The roses bloom from April through October with the peak coming in June, depending on the weather. New rose cultivars are continually sent to the garden from many parts of the world and are tested for color, fragrance, disease resistance and other attributes. It is the oldest continuously operating public rose test garden in the United States and exemplifies Portland's nickname of the City of Roses.”

As we exited the car, one could smell the fragrance of roses in the air. For hours, we strolled through row upon row of roses of every color and type. Some were climbing on trellaces, some were in groups, prolific and small, some were on single bushes, hugely layered.

There were smaller “gardens” within the Garden, each with a theme: Shakespeare, miniature, formal, etc. Each was different, all were gorgeous.

In one area, volunteers were busy deadheading the plants. They considered the roses “not at their best”, waning toward the end of the season. But for we who had never seen the garden in June, it was breathtaking!

  

A brick walkway in the garden, The Queens’ Walk” displayed bronze stars with names, one for each queen of Portland’s Rose Festival since 1907.

Before leaving, we visited the Rose Garden Store. That is where one can buy anything with a roses theme – clothing, jewellery, stationery, dishes, teas, honey.

The International Rose Test Garden was definitely a place of joy and inspiration!

                                                                                  (photos by Edith H. Doell)