Oregon: Portland – The International Rose Test Garden

One of Portland’s nicknames is the City of Roses, and this town has long been an incubator for the scented beauties. Nearly a century ago, a farsighted citizen convinced the local government to set up a rose test garden during World War I to preserve the species of European roses that might be decimated by the bombings. Thus, in 1917, the International Rose Test Garden was born and lives on as the oldest official, continuously operated public rose test garden in the United States. What does that mean for you? If you visit from April through October you can walk among 7,000 luscious rose bushes; June is when they’re most bountiful. The garden is free, open from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

The garden itself is located in the City’s Washington Park, a large urban green space that is also the home to many of Portland’s main attractions including the Portland Zoo and the Japanese Garden. The Rose Garden is opposite the Japanese Garden, and it is straightforward to combine the two in a two or three-hour visit!

Parking is limited in the area around the Rose Garden so we decided to use public transport. On the way there we decided to take the number 20 bus from outside Powells Bookshop travelling west towards Beaverton. After passing Providence Park, the home of the Portland Timbers, we hopped off at 23rd Street and crossed the street to Washington Park. You should be aware that Washington Park is built on a hill and we had a pretty steep climb up many stairs to reach our destination. There is an alternative path that winds its way up the hill, avoiding the stairs but this is also quite steep. The nice this about this route is that it took us via the Holocaust Memorial, which is worth spending a few minutes exploring and reflecting on the horrors that the Nazis inflicted on the Jews living in mainland Europe during World War II.

From the Jewish Memorial, you can follow the road another 1/2 mile uphill to the Rose Garden, or do what we did catch the free shuttle bus. Additionally, the number 76 bus also stops here and will take you on to the Rose Garden.

The International Rose Test Garden is spectacular, especially when we visited in early June. There are hundreds of different types of roses, from bushes to shrubs to trees with hundreds of varieties on display. The colours are incredible and the fragrance of several varieties was scrumptious. From our brief investigation, the yellow flowers are the most fragrant but it is worth checking out the others for yourself.

We spent a good hour milling among the many beds and rows of roses before heading off. On this visit, we decided not to do the Japanese Garden – having been there not too long ago.

Returning to downtown Portland we decided to take a different route back (which you could take to get you there in the first place). We caught the free shuttle bus (or alternatively the number 76 bus) to the top of Washington Park where the Zoo and Children’s Museum is located. From here you can take the MAX Light Rail back down the heart of downtown Portland.

If you love gardens and especially roses you will be delighted if you get the chance to visit these amazing gardens. There are flowers in bloom from April to October but the zenith of the floral displays are in the Spring- especially in June.