Monday, August 24, 2015

In the city of roses


Warning: this post contains your entire yearly dose of flower photos!


...But on the other hand, there are over 7,000 plants in this garden so I'm sparing you approximately 6,675 of them ;)


Why go to Portland's International Rose Test Garden? I mean, aside from this---



Here's what will keep your interest as one flower blurs into the next three hundred flowers...


It's free!


You can catch a glimpse of the city's skyline.

And attend the Shakespeare outdoor theater.

As Ukrainian friends would say- photo sessiya!


For something as straitlaced as roses, this garden has a quirky side. Hunt around for the roses with names like Wing Ding, Barbara Streisand, and Koko Loko or this oddly-named background player:


You'll find more than just roses here (though not much more):


Lots and lots of benches. If you time it right (late evening), you'll have most of them to yourself.


But it's mainly the flowers that will keep you wandering the rows, the hundreds and hundreds of flowers. It's almost like being at an outdoor wedding, minus the dress code and schedule of events. Here you're free to find a quiet corner to chill in, bring a picnic lunch, roll down the grassy hills of the Shakespeare Theater, and eventually head next door to the equally amazing 5.5 acre Japanese Garden. (We had hoped to see the Japanese Garden but ran out of daylight. Next time!)


If you're in town, come check it out! :)

  • Garden hours: 7:30am-9:00pm 
  • FREE public tours are offered daily at 1:00pm, from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. Meet at the Rose Garden store 10 minutes prior. 

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for this post. It's absolutely gorgeous! I love all those roses. The old owner of our house was a big lover of roses, so we are left with a few beautiful specimens in our garden. Next time Michael and I are in Portland, we definitely have to visit this place!

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    1. So glad you enjoyed the post, Yulia! You guys will love visiting this garden :)

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