Woodland Park Rose Garden

The Woodland Park Rose Garden in June 2014

The Woodland Park Rose Garden covers 2.5 acres at the south entrance to the Woodland Park Zoo, outside the zoo grounds, at the intersection of N 50th Street and Fremont Avenue N, on Phinney Ridge in Seattle.  There are 200 varieties of roses & 3,000 individual plants.  It is one of only two dozen certified American Rose Test Gardens in the United States.  The garden is maintained by the Woodland Park Zoo Society.  Construction of the rose garden was completed in 1924 & originally covered 1.8 acres.  The art deco heritage clearly shows in the design of the pool & frieze behind it.  While not a very small garden, it has an intimate feel, in great contrast to the sprawling Washington Park International Rose Test Garden in Portland, OR.  I have seen a number of other rose gardens, within much larger botanical gardens.  None of them had the subtle charm Seattle's largest rose garden.  There is also the much smaller Helen Sutton Rose Garden located at the South Seattle College Arboretum.