General Information

Rolling green lawns and colorful showy blooms highlight the San José Municipal Rose Garden. In fact, hardly a day passes when some species is not in full bloom, with more than 3,500 plantings and 189 varieties featured.

San José's 5.5 acre Municipal Rose Garden – a one-time prune orchard – is today one of the most attractive of its kind in the world, drawing thousands of visitors each year. The garden is exclusively devoted to shrubs of the rose family and features over 4,000 rose shrubs with 189 varieties represented. Hybrid–teas comprise 75% of the plantings. These shrubs are characterized by a single high centered bloom per stem.

• Hours: 8 a.m. to an hour after sunset
• Acreage: 10.7
• Council District: 3
• Contact Information:
  • Permits & Reservations: 408-794-7275

Visiting the Garden

Visitors to the Garden can also expect to see floribundas, which have clusters of blooms per stem; grandifloras, which are taller than hybrid-teas and feature both clusters and single bloom stems; miniature roses; climbers, a rose variety that sends out long canes, which are trained up onto the fences surrounding the Garden; and polyanthas, low growing rose shrubs with clusters of small flowers.

Visitors can enjoy colorful, showy blooms throughout the April to November season. A favorite time to visit though is early May when the acres of fragrant, majestic roses are at their most beautiful stage.

MUNICIPAL ROSE GARDEN MAP

ROSE VARIETIES

San José's Municipal Rose Garden is also home to newly hybridized rose and new rose varieties. In fact, the All-American Rose Selections, a national independent rating organization sends the new varieties to the Garden for testing before release to the general public. The roses are tested in areas like health, amount of blooms, color, form and unique qualities of bloom, before being accepted as a new variety and released to the public.

Visitors to the Garden will note that a detailed map of plantings (inside brochure and posted in the Garden) lists hundreds of varieties with names ranging from "Bon Bon" to "Voo Doo" and "Olé" to "San José Sunshine."

Rose hybridizers who develop new varieties choose the names for their creations, which are then submitted to the International Rose Registration Program of the American Rose Society, which has cataloged over 15,000 varieties.

PICNIC AREAS

Picnic areas are non-reservable, and are occupied at a first-come, first-serve basis.

Amenities

• BBQ: Yes
• Sports/Activities: None
• Tot Lot: None
• Youth Playground: None
• Restrooms: Yes
• Parking: Street parking
• Weddings: The San Jose Municipal Rose Garden was recognized for its stunning beauty by being voted "America's Best Rose Garden" by All American Rose Selection (AARS) and "best location" to get married by the San Jose Mercury News in the same year. This popular 5 1/2-acre park, located in the Rose Garden District at Naglee and Dana Avenues, is a world of color and fragrance. Roses, roses everywhere; from palest pinks to the deepest reds, your guests will be surrounding by delightful scents and images. More than 4,000 colorful roses are in bloom from April through November. The Rose Garden is at its peak in May when the blossoms are at their most aromatic and romantic best. The Municipal Rose Garden offers two sites for wedding ceremonies, the Fountain Arbor and the Rose Garden Stage.
  • Photo Permits: Two hour photo permit fee at the Japanese Friendship Garden, Municipal Rose Garden, Regional Parks, and Neighborhood Parks. Please note: There is a $60.00 Application Fee and $40.00 Permit fee.
    • If reserving a wedding ceremony site, photo permit fees are included in the reservation fee. Please note: There is a $60 non-refundable application fee for all ceremony sites. Prices are subject to change. 
    • * Photo permits may be required at any City of San Jose Park. For inquiries about photo permits please call 408-794-6504 at City Hall, 9th Floor, 200 E. Santa Clara St. San José, CA 95113. 
  • For more information on weddings, please contact denise.esparza@sanjoseca.gov.

All wedding reservations must be made in person, at least one (1) week or no more than one (1) year in advance. Wedding reservations can be made up to one year in advance of desired date. DO NOT PRINT OR DISTRIBUTE INVITATIONS UNTIL APPROVAL IS RECEIVED.

Reservations are processed at City Hall, 9th Floor, 200 E. Santa Clara St. San José, CA 95113. The Reservation Office is open Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Check or money order must be made payable to the City of San José. Cash, VISA, Mastercard, and Discover are accepted. 

Rules and Regulations

• No air jumps are allowed in parks at this time 
• Do not pick, collect, or remove any plant or other natural feature from the park
• Littering prohibited
• Organized sports are not allowed in the Rose Garden
• No consumption of alcohol permitted
• No dogs
• No motorized vehicles permitted on the trails
• No skateboarding permitted
• No smoking
• Neighborhood Park Rules
• All Picnic Site Rules & Regulations

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HISTORY

The Garden has a natural grass stage surrounded by a cathedral of redwood trees and a view of the roses. This area of the Garden is available for wedding ceremonies. The Garden is operated and maintained by the City of San José.

The Garden was championed by early members of the Santa Clara County Rose Society, and on November 20, 1927, the San José City Council voted to set aside 5.5 acres of an 11–acre tract of land at Naglee and Dana Avenues just outside of downtown San José and the Rose Society pledged to provide roses for the Garden. Groundbreaking took place April 7, 1931, and six years later, on April 7, 1937, the Rose Garden was officially dedicated.

Many of the Garden's original features including the reflection pool in the center of the structural entrance, garden vases, the two-tiered water fountain, miniature rose beds and arbor have been donated through the years by the community and the Rose Society.