Roses for a Birthday

One of the big reasons my husband and I moved to Oregon was to be close to family.  Neither of us had family in Indiana, and Oregon offered a much larger job market and a relief from winter, unlike northern Michigan.  I have loved getting to spend significantly more time with family as a result.

My mom's birthday is at the end of May, and this year it was on a Saturday.  It worked out perfectly to take her on her actual birthday to explore the International Rose Test Garden in Portland, right at the peak of the roses blooming.  Almost every plant had at least some fully open blooms, and most varieties were filled with beautiful, fragrant flowers.  The sky was a patchwork of clear blue and white puffs and the temperature was just right for jeans and a t-shirt.  The day could not have been much better.

Being that the gardens are so popular and it was peak season, we had to start pretty early because it gets crowded fast during the peak season, so we arrived around 9:30 and got a parking spot right up front.  As we wandered the rows upon rows of roses (ha!), time flew by and the crowds got thicker.  We ended up staying for over 3 hours!  I think we saw every variety of rose.

Of course I took loads of photos.  It's hard to resist when you have such great subjects at your disposal.  When editing the photos from the Tulip Festival, I feel like I used a bit of a heavy hand with some of the vibrancy and color saturation adjustments.  So with these, I only edited the exposure and nothing else (except removing an occasional speck or something like that).  No adjustments to contrasts, vibrancy, or saturation.  I really wanted to let the flowers speak for themselves.  Here are some photos of my favorites.  (Click "Read More..." to see more)

It may look like a peony, but it's a rose!

I love how you can see the velvety texture of the petals in this one

This is clearly not a rose.  It is an orchid!  Its variety is Bletilla Striata and grows quite well in the conditions we get in the PNW.  There were several plants located on the north end of the Rose Test Garden.  I've been meaning to order some of these to plant in my own yard.

One of my favorite photos, and a favorite rose.  Its fragrance is enchanting!

This one was in the shade all day and by early afternoon, the dew was still on its petals.

A perfect spiral of petals.

Such a bright lemony yellow.  I have an orchid that is similar in color that I am trying to convince to bloom...

Nothing like the purity of a white rose.

So buttery!

Again, the velvety-ness!  I'm so happy it shows in the photos!

Touring the gardens always makes me want to fill my landscaping with rose bushes.  Which one is your favorite?