Rose Garden, Portland Oregon

Since we needed to be in Portland for a few days, I had to take Marcia to the Rose Gardens in Washington Park.  I have been in Portland 3 or 4 times myself, but never when the roses were in bloom.  

As big cities go, Portland is a nice place to visit.  

 When you are downtown, you can ride public transportation around the downtown area for free....however, starting in September 2012, the free zone will no longer exist.  But you can get a one day pass for $5, $3.30 for youth, and $2 for "Honored Citizen", which is seniors age 65 or older, people on Medicare and people with mental or physical disabilities.

The twin towers above show the location of the convention center, with the building to the far left being the "Rose Garden" coliseum where the NBA Trailblazers play basketball.  But we were here for the other "Rose Garden", because Portland is known as the "City of Roses".

The roses bloom in Portland from April through October, with the peak time being in June, but July is not bad either most years.  The International Rose Test Gardens is the one in Washington Park, but the Parks and Recs department runs three rose gardens, with the Peninsula Park Rose Gardens and the Ladd's Addition Rose Garden, but we did not attempt to visit these two.  The link above will provide you information on all three.  Also, there is much more to do in Washington Park besides the Rose Gardens, including the zoo, zoo train, Holocaust Monument, Japanese Gardens, Forestry Museum, Children's Museum, along with many outdoor sports facilities and miles of trails.

One has a wonderful view of the city, and of Mt. Hood, from the Rose Garden area.  But alas, for us, no Mt. Hood due to the clouds and overcast.  Well, we will save that view for another visit.

It is easy to share pictures, but impossible to share the wonderful fragrance of the roses.  From this point I will share some pictures....few words.....no smell.  However, if you were here today, you would have been speechless, and you would have been overwhelmed by fragrance of all these wonderful roses and other flowers.

And then there are the pictures of individual or small group of flowers...

One thing about the gardens....they are so big, that even with a lot of people there, you have more than enough room to not feel crowded.

 And as the picture above and below show...it is not only people who are in attendance....so "bee ware"

Finally, we know that not all the flowers are roses in the Rose Garden...but most of them are.  There are over 7,000 rose plants of approximately 550 varieties.  

The gardens cover 4.5 acres, and some of it just was not accessible with the scooter...in fact, Marcia got stuck on the grass a few times, but it was easy to get her going again.  

And the gardens are free of charge, open daily, and the gardens run right into the outdoor amphitheater where they have, at times, concerts, readings, and other cultural things.

And other than this harp player, there was no commercial activities going on inside the garden, but there is a gift store, bathrooms, and a food cart at the entrance to the gardens.  If you are ever in Portland during the spring, summer or early fall...it is a must see place.  And be sure that your nose is clear so that you can enjoy all the wonderful aromas. 

And as a parting shot for the day, look at this picture below, and try and count the various colors of the various roses contained within the picture....and to think that God is said to know every hair on our head, while we have troubles just seeing the various colors that abound around us.