The International Rose Test Garden (IRTG) in Washington Park celebrated its centennial in 2017!  The rose garden and Portland’s identity with roses are inextricably linked.  Back in 1888, Georgiana Burton Pittock, wife of pioneer publisher Henry Pittock, invited her friends and neighbors to exhibit their roses in a tent set up in her garden.  An annual rose show grew in popularity and size.  Georgiana and her friends established the Portland Rose Society in 1889.  Jesse A. Currey, a former Rose Society president, chose the garden’s site and convinced city fathers to inaugurate a rose test garden in 1917 with the support of the American Rose Society, City officials, and civic-minded citizens.

The primary purpose of the garden continues to serve as a testing ground for new rose varieties. In the beginning, hybridists were encouraged to send roses from around the world to Portland’s garden for testing.  Today, the Washington Park IRTG is the oldest continuously operating public rose test garden in the United States and welcomes nearly 700,000 visitors each year.

Come see this exhibition garden of 4.5 acres, with over 10,000 rose bushes and 600 varieties of roses!  There is no entry fee.  A trip to Portland isn’t complete without a visit to WA Park and the International Rose Test Garden, an iconic representation of The Rose City!