El Paso Municipal Rose Garden
On display at the more than four-acre El Paso Municipal Rose Garden are approximately 1,200 rose bushes with over 300 different rose varieties. The first 200 roses were planted in April 1958 by the City of El Paso and the El Paso Rose Society. The Rose Garden opened to the public in May 1959. Initially one-and-a-half acres, it was expanded to its present size in 2005-2006 by the City of El Paso. There are special sections in the garden for Earth-Kind® roses, miniature roses, and native plants from the Rose Family. Each year new roses are added and evaluated for their adaptability to the climate conditions in El Paso. Most of the garden’s bushes are repeat-bloomers and will continue blooming until early winter.
Since 2007, El Paso Master Gardeners have volunteered at the El Paso Municipal Rose Garden as part of an agreement between the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the City of El Paso in cooperation with the El Paso Rose Society. Volunteers do pruning, deadheading, weeding, rose inventories, and other tasks to keep the garden looking beautiful. The volunteers provide rose care and other information to garden visitors and conduct group tours during peak bloom times. They also assist the El Paso Rose Society (915-751-3631) with the annual public pruning demonstration every February.
The Master Gardener Rose Garden Committee coordinates the volunteer activities with the Extension Horticultural Agent, the Rose Society, and the City. Master Gardener volunteers provide thousands of hours of rose care in the garden each year and many hours of public education as well.
The Rose Garden is located at 1702 N. Copia Street, at Aurora. While subject to close for some city holidays, it is generally open to the public daily from March 1st through November 30th, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.-and admission is free. Parking is available; restrooms are not.