And it truly is amazing. The Tyler Rose Garden contains over 600 varieties of roses with over 32,000 rose bushes!
The best way to view this garden is leisurely. You could spend the entire day here. Or several hours. But don't try to rush through the experience, or you will miss something!
The roses are, of course, the main attraction. There are numerous classes of roses grown here, and even an entire section of David Austin roses. However, the majority of roses here are modern Hybrid Teas, growing in row after row after row.
I have always loved this wall of climbers (below). This is actually the back of the wall, which was the old entrance to The Rose Garden.
This view from the other side shows how much you can miss if you don't wander the entire grounds.
Wandering around, you will discover a small Camellia Garden,
many shady areas to rest,
several ponds,
a gazebo surrounded by azaleas,
and a water garden. I am mesmerized by water jets spraying in a sequence of events. Are you?
In case you're wondering, the red tents in the middle of the garden were in anticipation of the Queen's Tea, a part of the Texas Rose Festival held in Tyler every year in October.
If you are interested in growing any of these roses, each bed is labeled with the rose name, class, color, and AARS rating, if applicable. This makes it very nice for identification of the beauties growing there, and extremely valuable for taking notes of roses you may wish to grow in your own garden. I thought these were the biggest, most voluptuous blooms I'd ever seen!
Oh, no wonder! ;)
Don't like roses? Don't worry! There are some plantings with no roses. And the Idea Garden has a wonderful variety of different plants. I saw a rose or two here, but they are almost hidden among the other plants. The Idea Garden, in addition to showcasing other plants, is the area in which talks and demonstrations are held. They are held quite frequently here, on numerous gardening subjects, not just roses. So, see? There's something for everyone!
And don't miss the Heritage Rose Garden (located in the far Southwest corner) which includes older and antique roses. Buff Beauty, Old Blush, Souvenir de la Malmaison, and Jaune Desprez are just a few of the 50 varieties in this area. They are surrounded by perennials, such as one would have in a suburban garden. I suggest visiting this area first. Visited last, if you compare this area to the overwhelming number of blooms in the main area, it might feel a bit anticlimactic. However, this area gives the most realistic portrayal of roses in a non-commercial garden, no matter which class of roses you plant in your own garden.
If you come to Tyler, Texas, I hope you take the time to visit the Tyler Rose Garden. Admission is free. If you love roses, I assure you, you will not be disappointed! Want more information? Click here for a pdf brochure.
How lovely and to have all those blooms yet in October. Our landscape is mostly golden but not from blooms but from the leaves. which are fast disappearing from the trees. It will soon be bare and barren here. Winter is not long in coming.
ReplyDeleteThe roses always put on a great show in October here. Almost as good the show in spring! Our winter is still a while away for us.
DeleteRose heaven, and haven! A stunning looking garden, must have been magical walking through all those blooms :)
ReplyDeleteHeaven and haven - I love how you worded that! It is magical, actually it's almost surreal. There are so many roses, and they are all so beautiful, it seems as if it will never end.
DeleteHow can there be so many roses? Wow! I've never seen so many in the same place.
ReplyDeleteWhat's funny is that, while pulling up the brochure to link to, I realized there is an area I have never seen! There is just so much to see!
Delete32000 plants is an enormous amount of roses! I bet it is heavenly to visit here!
ReplyDeleteAnd they add more and more each year. Being surrounded by all the roses is a bit overwhelming. I have to stop, take a breath, and take my time in wandering around. It's amazing to me that this garden is so well kept, and yet is still free to the public.
Deletewhat a wonderful rose tour you have given us to delight our senses!
ReplyDeleteIt's so big, it really is hard to put into one little blog post. But the roses are sensational.
DeleteHolley, thanks for sharing this garden tour! I loved the Idea garden, the roses with other flowers and plants.
ReplyDeleteThe Idea garden was truly beautiful. And I wrote down some new-to-me plants that I want to add to my garden!
DeleteA Rose lovers paradise and other plants as well, looks like a lovely place to visit. Thanks for the tour.
ReplyDeleteIt really is a rose lovers paradise. I love being able to go, look, smell, and see the rose before I purchase it. I don't do it as often as I should, though! It's a wonderful place to go and find that perfect rose bush that you love for your very own garden.
DeleteWOW, i really want to visit there one day, each time i see a rose i want to grow them more and more and if i'm not careful i may end up with a yard full of them with no money left.... not that it would be all bad if that happened ;)
ReplyDeleteas for the water feature, yes, they mesmerise me too :)
I think that's how I ended up with a yard full of roses - they really can be quite addicting! :)
DeleteI enjoyed the tour of roses. You photographed really lovely views of and through the gardens.
ReplyDeleteThank you! The sun was really harsh that day, and it was challenging to take a photo while most of the people were out of the shot. But who could take a bad photo with 32,000 roses as the subject? :)
DeleteThank you for the tour, it looks like a beautiful place to visit. Did you choose any roses for your garden?
ReplyDeleteI didn't take my own advice - I was rushed that day, but I'll go back again and pick out one or two, I'm sure. I did purchase two Burgandy Iceberg roses and two Brilliant Pink Iceberg roses that afternoon!
DeleteI can hardly stand it, if only I had known of this place when I lived in Texas. It will have to go on my impossibly optimistic bucket list.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad that we never really visit the things that are in our own backyard, so to speak. I hope you get to come back to Texas and visit this garden as well as any other things on your Texan bucket!
DeleteOMG, so there is such a place! I can imagine the lovely scent while roaming around, maybe the people are hazy-dreaming with those scents in the air. I would feel like i am already in the other life!
ReplyDelete:) Yes, for rose lovers, this truly is heavenly!
DeleteIf going to Tyler, it'd be crazy not to visit. What a wonderful place to be able to walk through. It's beautiful.
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
It does need to be on the "must see" list if traveling through here!
DeleteWhat a wonderful tour! Must be a haven for a rose lover! I wonder if they have gone the organic route with growing? One of our largest rose gardens in the East, part of the New York Botanical gardens began a program of no chemicals - not an easy task with roses, and it has been quite successful. I say, if you dont want to drink it, dont spray it!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on organic gardening. I'm not sure what/how/when they spray here. I would suspect they spray something, sometime, but I have no answers for that. I'm certain if asked they would tell. And if I lived in the neighborhoods nearby, I would be asking!
DeleteWhat an incredible place! Seeing your photographs cheers me up as I sit here with the snow falling outside. Thanks for the tour!
ReplyDeleteSnow! It's still 80's here! I'm so thankful our winters are short. Of course, our summers are brutal.
DeleteWow..if I live in such an environment, sure the almighty will give me 2 decades more to live on... I will come more often to enjoy here. I only have a few Roses in my yard.
ReplyDeleteI think that may be the reason it seems gardeners do live longer. Not only is it good exercise, we get rewarded with blooms!
DeleteThat is one stunning garden....if I am ever out there surely I will stop in.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of a Botanical Garden in New Zealand that I visited, it was dusk, and the scent, along with the colors...heady.
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
This is also a favorite of many brides, if not to get married in the garden, then to be photographed here. All the roses must made for a beautiful background.
DeleteWow, Holley, that place seems tailor-made for you! Thanks for the tour. It looks like a great combination of pleasure garden and useful garden. Just the fact that they have an Idea Garden--that's brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThat's why I grow roses - they really seem to like this area! And yes, the Idea Garden was a great idea! I really enjoy going through it and seeing all the different plants, plus - I actually like the visual break from rose after rose! Shhhhh.... don't tell anyone! :)
DeleteHey, I thought Portland was the Rose City.
ReplyDeleteRoses are such wonderful plants, they can grow all over! Even though this particular rose garden is the biggest in the U.S., Portland is known as "The City of Roses" due to its sheer number of rose gardens. Tyler is called "The Rose Capital of the World" because of the number of rose growing nurseries here that were the source of most of the rose plants sold in the U.S. Unfortunately, I believe now a lot of rose nurseries are moving to Arizona where the winters are milder. Tyler's reputation for growing roses is so strong, though, that some of the rose nurseries grow the roses in Arizona then ship them to Tyler for processing and labeling!
DeleteMy goodness there are lots of roses there...I can see why you love this garden...I don't think I have seen that many roses in one garden...
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe, even when you see it with your own eyes!
DeleteLooks like I need to go a little further east on some upcoming TX trip...how nice to spend part of the day there! At least for now, I have the Abq Rose Garden that I helped design, just 4 freeway exits west...
ReplyDeleteMaybe one day I'll get to see the Albuquerque Rose Garden in person. I would love to see the way in which you designed it. This garden is an old design, from the 50's, and that is why the roses are placed in rows. I bet if it were being designed today, it would be completely different.
DeleteSuch a lovely post.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Chris.
Delete