Stop and smell the Portland Rose Test Garden

Portland is the City of Roses — and it wears its floral heart on its sleeve. As late spring blooms into summer, hundreds of miles of sidewalks explode with pink, white, red, and yellow, inviting onlookers to stop for a sniff or two. But to find the crown jewel, visitors must follow their nose up to Washington Park and wander the International Rose Test Garden. Roots run deep there, making it the best place to fully grasp (just watch out for thorns) the significance of the rosy moniker around town.

Among the 10,000 rose bushes — representing more than 600 different varieties — serenity prevails, but the garden began during a time of great strife. The year was 1915 and World War I ravaged Europe. Jesse A. Currey, the Sunday editor of the Oregon Journal and a well-known rose hobbyist worked with his fellows in England to transport unique hybrid roses overseas in order to preserve and protect them from the destruction. Eventually, all of the plants found a home on the hill and the garden was officially dedicated in 1924.

Just over a century later, it remains one of the most-visited places in Portland. During the peak bloom times from late-May through June, thousands of people flock to the International Rose Test Garden. Admittedly, finding parking can be less than pleasant, so public transportation via the MAX Light Rail and the Washington Park Free Shuttle Loop is a handy alternative. 

Views of the skyline and Mount Hood alone are worth the trip, but of course the true showstopper is the myriad roses, climbing on trellises and growing in seemingly endless rows. As its name implies, the International Rose Test Garden is more than just a spectacle; researchers analyze varieties from around the world, testing their appearance, fragrance, resistance to disease, and other factors before approving them for the commercial market.

There are also specialty gardens to explore. The Royal Rosarian Garden honors the longstanding group of ambassadors’ goodwill toward the city, and special pavers commemorate the Rose Festival Queens (and their signatures) dating back decades. You’ll find roses named for characters from The Bard’s oeuvre in the Shakespeare Garden, as well as a section dedicated to miniature flowers. If you’re interested in digging deeper into the garden’s rich history, free guided tours depart from the gift store every day at 1 p.m. 

Once you’ve got your fill, throw a blanket on the grass and have a picnic in the amphitheater — if you’re lucky, you can catch one of the film screenings, concerts, or dance and theater performances that take place there during the sunny season.