The Rose Garden
Ah, summer. It’s in full swing, and I love it. There’s a big secret here in the Pacific Northwest, and I’ve talked about it before. The secret is that the winters aren’t as bad as anyone says they are, and even if they were, the summer weather would totally make up for it. It’s cool in the evenings (65 – 70 degrees), warm during the day (mid-80s), no humidity, and no bugs. When I talked about this before, I only had a hunch that all the boo-hooing about the winter rains was just a front to keep people from moving here. I’m now absolutely convinced that is the case.
Anyway, one of the absolute best places to visit during the summer in Portland is the International Rose Test Garden. Remember how I told you that one of Portland’s nicknames is “City of Roses”? Well, here it is in full force: in a space of about 4 acres, there are over 7,000 rose plants of about 550 different varieties. The rose garden is tucked into beautiful Washington Park, a fantastic place to spend an afternoon if you want to be outdoors.
Why is it called a “test” garden, you ask? Well, it’s just that: new varieties are sent here from all over the world to test them out… see how they grow, check for diseases, color, and fragrance. It started as a safe place to send roses for safe-keeping during World War I, because people didn’t want their roses destroyed during the bombing in Europe. Which, I think is interesting…like, didn’t they have other more important things to worry about than what would happen to their rose bushes? Weird.
I mean, really, everywhere you turn there is an amazingly beautiful rose. I took so many pictures when I was there. And oh they smell so good. The whole place is so fragrant, and every rose I see beckons for me to put my nose right in and take a whiff. Mmm!
And with that, here are some more pictures for you to enjoy! This is just a small sampling of the beauty you will see there. I couldn’t post all my pictures, because then you wouldn’t go, would you?
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