San Jose Municipal Rose Garden
Encyclopedia
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
garden located at the intersection of Naglee Avenue and Dana Avenue, San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, in the Rose Garden neighborhood
Rose Garden, San Jose, California
The Rose Garden neighborhood in San Jose, California, is a gentrified residential area, with significant commercial presence along its major streets...
. It is open to the public daily without charge. Dogs are not allowed.
The garden was once a prune orchard, but was bought by San Jose in 1927 and is now exclusively devoted to roses. It features more than 3,500 rose shrubs representing 189 rose varieties.
As an official Display Garden for the All-America Rose Selections (AARS) the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden receives AARS award winning roses in advance of public release. In the early 2000s, City budget cuts impacted the Rose Garden. In 2005 the AARS put the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden on probation and it was at risk of losing AARS accreditation. In 2007 Friends of the San Jose Rose Garden (FSJRG) was established, a volunteer nonprofit organization whose mission was to restore and renovate the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden. In December 2008 the AARS lifted the garden from probation and restored full accreditation. In 2009 over 800 new roses were planted as part of the restoration project.
On May 2, 2009 the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden was rededicated as an official All-America Rose Selections Test Garden, one of 23 in the USA and the only one in Northern California. The rededication ceremony and ribbon cutting of new Test Beds was conducted by the Mayor of San Jose Chuck Reed
Chuck Reed
Charles Rufus "Chuck" Reed is the current Mayor of San Jose, California.-Biography:Reed was born in Garden City, Kansas. Reed's high school basketball team became Kansas State Champions despite being from a very small, rural school. He joined the United States Air Force in 1970 after attending the...
, the President of the All America Rose Selections, Tom Carruth, San Jose City Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio
Pierluigi Oliverio
Pierluigi Oliverio is the District 6 representative on the San Jose City Council. He was sworn in on March 20, 2007.District 6 includes Willow Glen, Rose Garden, Cory, Sherman Oaks, Canoas Gardens, College Park, Shasta Hanchett, Palm Haven, Buena Vista and other neighborhoods...
, and Co-Founders of the Friends of the San Jose Rose Garden, Beverly Rose Hopper and Terry Reilly.
On December 15, 2009 the restoration of the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden by volunteers of Friends of the San Jose Rose Garden in partnership with the City of San Jose, was nationally recognized on President Obama's website Serve.gov [, Corporation for National and Community Service.
The All-America Rose Selections named the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden "America's Best Rose Garden" on August 12, 2010, the first nationwide contest to select the best public rose garden in the USA. http://www.friendssjrosegarden.org/abrg_press_release.pdf The winning garden was selected based on beauty, creativity and community involvement.