I have a passion for landscape photography. I don’t particularly like camping or hiking, yet I’d pack up and spend a weekend in the wild any time, as long as I can take my camera gear along.
So imagine my surprise when I discovered I had knack for photographing flowers.
I still love going out in the wild to take photos, but when I don’t have the time for a long excursion, I grab my camera gear and head on down to the rose garden.
The George E Owen Memorial Rose Garden covers 8.5 acres along the Willamette River in Eugene Oregon. You’ll find thousands of roses, with hundreds of varieties. The garden is owned by the City Of Eugene, and is currently maintained by volunteers.
I remember going to the rose gardens when I was a small child. My mom took me along when visiting the gardens with some other ladies. It was still a very new park, and while I don’t remember much, I do remember a lot of rectangles of bare ground with small rose bushes, and only a few blooms. And I remember the area not having much more than the roses.
As an adult, I’ve been visiting the gardens every summer for years. The mature rose plants bloom profusely all summer long, and include climbing roses as well as bush varieties. But the park has much more than just the formal rose beds. Beyond the formal layout are a number of areas that include a wide variety of plants and trees.
The photos in this post highlight the garden as a whole, giving you an idea of the ambiance of a day in the park. If you’d like to see the roses close up, be sure to check out One Dozen Roses, Another Dozen Roses, and Roses, Roses And More Roses.
If you’re ever in Eugene in the summer, I recommend taking a stroll along the paths. Be sure to stop and smell the roses along the way.
About The Author
Anita Cross is a marketing consultant and has been active online since 1995. Offline, Anita is passionate about her family, pets, and photography. She's a big movie buff and an avid reader, with Cozy Mysteries and Epic Fantasy at the top of her reading list.
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