San Jose Heritage Rose Garden – Guadalupe River Park Conservancy

San Jose Heritage Rose Garden

The Heritage Rose Garden is maintained by the South Bay Heritage Rose Group and Guadalupe River Park Conservancy volunteers every Saturday morning. The Heritage Rose Garden is open daily from sunrise to sunset free of charge.

Learn more about reinvesting into the Heritage Rose Garden in anticipation of the 30th anniversary in March 2025.

Heritage Rose Garden 30th Anniversary Kickoff

Join us in kicking off the celebration of the San José Heritage Rose Garden’s upcoming 30th anniversary!

The Heritage Rose Garden is a testament to the Guadalupe River Park’s dedication to preserving rare and iconic roses, with a goal to share in community knowledge, appreciation, and stewardship.

The day will consist of a sign unveiling, speakers, volunteer opportunities, and park programs happening throughout the day.

If you’d like to volunteer with us in preparation for this event, we’ll be hosting our usual Heritage Rose Garden volunteer day every Saturday leading up to and day of the event, as well as hosting our monthly Trail Cleanup in the vicinity.

Volunteer in the Heritage Rose Garden

Navigating the Rose Garden

The San Jose Heritage Rose Garden, or the “Sangerhausen of the West,” is an unexpected jewel located in downtown San Jose. The purpose of the rose garden was to provide a safe haven for important rose species and to connect the public with the rare and beautiful flowers. Special emphasis was placed on choosing types of roses that would supplement the Municipal Rose Garden’s collection.

The criteria for choosing the roses that would be placed in the new garden included:

1. Rose varieties that were in danger of becoming lost or inaccessible
2. Rose varieties whose genes contributed to the best roses ever
3. Rose varieties that were so great that the public should have the opportunity to view them
4. Rose varieties that would become rare in the future

Rose Garden Map

Adopt a Rose

The Adopt-a-Rose program in the Heritage Rose Garden allows individuals to adopt a rose for a donation of $50 (without a gift package) or $90 (with a gift package), and provides for a plaque to be placed in front of the rose with a personal inscription from the donor. You can adopt a rose at any time of the year. Payment can be complete online, over the phone, or via check. Please call us at 408-298-7657 or email info@grpg.org with any questions.

How to Adopt a Rose:

1.) Thank you for your interest in our Adopt a Rose program! First start by finding available roses on the Rose Catalog site or by clicking on the Browse the Rose Catalog button below.

2.) Please choose a rose with an empty adoption expiration or an expiration date that is 4+ years expired (November 2020 or older).

3.) Visit our donate page and click on the Adopt a Rose option and proceed to fill out the form. Your donation is good for the year and goes towards the maintenance and upkeep of the Heritage Rose Garden plus a plaque with your personal inscription. For an extra you can gift (or keep) a little box of rose-themed goodies. Please allow 2-4 weeks for inscriptions to be made and placed on a plaque.

Browse the Rose Catalog Adopt a Rose today

History of the Heritage Rose Garden

In 1988, avid gardener Lorrie Freeman and nurseryman Tom Liggett began work to develop a proposal for a rose garden in the yet undeveloped Guadalupe Gardens. In 1992, the San Jose City Council approved and funded the proposal for a heritage rose garden that would be the size of a city block.

Ed Wilkinson, the original Curator, and Liggett, the original Director, spent countless hours establishing the Heritage Rose Garden’s botanical collection. They scoured many places, including old cemeteries and homes, for unidentified rose species. Using Wilkinson’s extensive database of garden rose species that were available worldwide, they also gathered propagating material from gardens and collectors all over the United States and imported bud wood from several of the greatest rose collections in the world.

Liggett, with significant help from the South Bay Heritage Rose Group, grew the under stock, supervised bud grafting, and grew and harvested over 4,000 roses. These roses were replanted in the new garden by over 750 volunteers during the record rains of March 1995. In September of the same year, the vice mayor and other notable members of the city dedicated the garden. Since its beginning, volunteers have constantly cared for the rose garden and planted hundreds of additional varieties.

The size of a city block, the Heritage Rose Garden is the largest public collection of roses in the Western hemisphere with over 3,000 varieties and more than 4,000 planted roses to admire.

History of the Heritage Rose Garden Reinvesting in the Heritage Rose Garden

Mel Hulse Fund

The Mel Hulse Fund was established in memory of our former Heritage Rose Garden Volunteer Director. Funds raised are used to enhance the collection of heritage roses at the garden.

Donate to the fund

Volunteer at the Heritage Rose Garden

The Heritage Rose Garden is maintained primarily by the South Bay Heritage Rose Group and Guadalupe River Park Conservancy volunteers every Saturday morning. Find upcoming volunteer events at our Events Calendar page, register on our Eventbrite, or contact our Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer@grpg.org for more information.

Learn how to prune your roses! Free pruning lessons are held in the Heritage Rose Garden every January and February.

Register to volunteer Pruning Lessons