The Portland International Rose Test Garden is the oldest public garden of its kind in the United States. The delightful smells and delicate features of the roses in bloom are always a treat.

I had visited the Rose Garden several times in June and found very few roses in bloom. It was no surprise, we had experienced a cool and wet spring causing most flowers to bloom behind schedule. In fact, we will end our water year on September 30th with five inches of rainfall above average.

But, as usual, the months of August and September this year were dry with almost no measurable rainfall. Add it all together and you have the ingredients for multiple roses to be in bloom near the autumnal equinox.

Sparrow

Rose Garden

Dark-eyed Susan

Folks enjoying the Rose Garden

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Oregon Vietnam Memorial Entrance