Free ones are my favorite rose gardens. In Oregon, the garden in Avery park in Corvallis is probably tops on my list. Followed by the Bush park and Portland rose gardens.

Also cemeteries. In Oregon the one that I know of that is most for the stop is at the pioneer cemetery in Salem.

And then there is the Sacramento City Cemetery with it's rose garden that would be my top if it weren't so far away.

In Georgia I would go to the Oakland cemetery to see a bunch of roses, and pass on the roses at the Atlanta botanical gardens and the state botanical garden in Athens.

In Colorado the Fairmont cemetery has several roses, can say about gardens though.

Mottisfont Abbey, Sissinghurst Castle, Hidcote Manor, Kiftsgate.

Daisy

The rose garden at Mottisfont Abbey is probably a must-see for any antique rose lover. It surely is on my list and hope one day I'll have a chance to visit it.

Sangerhausen in Germany. Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden in NYC. Elizabeth Park Rose Garden at Hartford, I believe the oldest public rose garden in the US.

This year I almost made it to Roseraie de l'Hay, an iconic place by its history and repute, but, after recently reading on this forum about their treatment of roses, I'm not sure if it would be on the top of my list any more.

The municipal rose garden in Wilson, North Carolina, which includes a variety of sculptures. They have a "deadhead brigade" as well as a contract for professional maintenance.

The garden includes many shrubs, antiques and minis in addition to the usual hybrid teas and floribundas. Their mass planting of the mini Sweet Chariot was a show-stopper last time I was there.

For antiques my favorite is the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. This very old cemetery is on a wonderful piece of high ground with many mature trees. Many of the roses are labelled. The cemetery provides an opportunity to see old teas and chinas in their full glory, rather than being whacked down like they often are in botanical gardens.

For me, the top two are both a day away from me:

The San Jose Heritage Rose Garden:

And the Sacramento City Cemetery's Historic Rose Garden:

I wish I had seen all these wonderful gardens. Apart from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Bronx rose gardens, I have been to very few.

I was very impressed by the Barcelona Rose garden when I saw it 15 years ago. The rose is Barcelona's official symbol and they take it very seriously, and of course their climate is superb for growing roses.. The beds were arranged chronologically, as I recall, and the collection was comprehensive, well labeled, and spacious, the model of how a rose great garden should be IMO: namely both historically informed and delightful. But I think the BBG is also great and improving yearly. I'm so glad I'm able to hop over there whenever I feel like it. Meantime, I hope people will keep posting pictures of the wonderful gardens they visit.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187497-d2625535-Reviews-Jardin_de_Rosas_de_Cervantes-Barcelona_Catalonia.html#photos;aggregationId=&albumid=101&filter=7

Add the Rudolph van der Goot Rose Garden in Colonial Park, Somerset, NJ.

My list of 'must see' places is growing very large now. So far I have only managed to visit gardens if they are part of a motor museum or some other attraction that my husband is interested in. I think I have satisfied his travel needs for a while and was thinking of perhaps doing a couple of special interest tours of gardens and historic places. There are companies that specialise in tailoring small group tours to suit the client's interests and if the gardens are free or cheap to enter it helps keep the costs down. I think cemeteries are a perfect spot for a small group to stop and stretch their legs after being on a bus for a while so if I am able to put some on the itinerary, all the better. Lola.

Thanks for the mention of the Sacramento Historic Rose Garden. The cemetery is very interesting from a historic standpoint too. Sacramento is a great place for a special interest tour of roses and historic places - and has an auto museum (and a wonderful railroad museum) too! There are actually five rose gardens in our area - the World Peace Garden in Capitol Park, the Natomas Rose Garden, McKinley Park Rose Garden (if you saw the movie Lady Bird, that's the one), and the Woodland Public Library Rose Garden, as well as the cemetery. We were the epicenter for Gold Rush activities so much to see in town as well as in the Mother Lode in the nearby foothills. Lots of wineries too. And good restaurants.