Portland’s International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park began as a World War I preservation effort to protect hybrid roses from Europe and developed into the oldest continuously operating public rose test garden in the United States. Created through the work of Jesse A. Currey and designed by Florence Holmes Gerke, it was dedicated in 1924 and moved to its present site in 1928. The 4.5-acre garden now contains more than 10,000 rose bushes of about 650 varieties, serves as a major testing ground for new cultivars, and includes several specialized garden areas. It also helped strengthen Portland’s identity as the “City of Roses.”

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Portland, Oregon · USA