The International Rose Test Garden

At the Saturday Market, Sandra and I parted company with Bruce and Jodi. They were continuing their whirlwind tour by heading onward to Seattle the next day, while Sandra and I were going to the see the roses, which the two of them had already seen. It was good to meet a couple focused on seeing the world.

We took public transportation to Washington Park, which is located on the hills on the west side of downtown. The light rail actually cuts through the hill in a tunnel, so our stop was actually several hundred feet below the surface. An elevator ride up later, we stood in the park outside the Portland Zoo. The Saturday transit there was intially a bit confusing. This is a contrast to the other public transportation in Portland, which I felt was quite straight-forward and usable. After finding the stop and bus, we took a winding and interesting ride through the park and surrounding neighborhood.



Stand Alone

Nestled among tall evergreens and with hilltop views, the International Rose Test Garden amazes the eyes. The rose colors pop against the dark green backdrop of the forest.



Shades Together

The interplay of single stalks and clusters alongside hues which range from uniform to complementary shades offer enormous variety. While the title says "Test Garden", the rose garden is a collection of gardens, from award winners to new varieties which are graded over the period of two years for characteristics, such as flower production, vigor, color, and fragrance.



Rows of Roses

In fact, featuring over 8000 rose bushes representing over 600 varieties, the garden is considered an exemplary rose garden in United States and is is testing grounds for both the All-America Rose Selection and American Rose Society. Portland is also the only North American city to award a Best Rose, an distinction sought by thousands of yearly submissions.



A Collection of Roses

The vast majority of my images are available in larger more detailed versions on Imageshack. Particularly for the above image, click and you can better see the texture of the individual roses.



Roses and Fallen Petals

I actually encountered a bit of sensory fatigue. There are so many roses from bushes whose petals gracefully collect on the walkways to those which stand in the foreground of other Oregon landmarks.



Roses Before Mt. Hood

Portland's International Rose Garden really stands out. I actually had to limit the number of photos I took and decided to post, because it would be very easy to post hundreds of beautiful roses. I have uploaded a few more images on Imageshack which you can click to view.

Extra Rose from The International Rose Garden

And Another Rose from The International Rose Garden

If you want to find out more about the garden, you can click Portland Parks & Recreation website and use
the park finder. If you're a lover of beauty, check it out.



One Last Cluster