Portland’s climate combines warm summers and rainy winters, never dipping too far down on the thermometer. This makes it a perfect site for rose gardens, which led to the city’s nickname a century ago. Visitors to the city will not want to miss the International Rose Test Garden, the oldest still-operating garden in the country.The garden was founded in 1917 by Jesse A. Curry, the editor of the Oregon Journal. This site served as protection for the roses recovered from Europe during the first World War. Starting in 1919 Portland began to offer gold medals for the best new variety, and in 1996 the Portland’s Best Rose award was installed. This award is judged by rose experts from around the world.When visiting the Test Garden, it’s helpful to have a plan in mind, since the site is spread over 4.5 acres with over 7,000 roses. There are three sub-gardens to help you organize your trip. The Royal Rosarian Garden honors the Rosarian group of Portland, which knights members in under the name of their favorite rose. This group helps represent the spirit of Portland to the wider world. This garden contains some roses which are no longer available on the commercial market.The Shakespeare Garden was started in 1945 and originally only included plants from Shakespeare’s plays. However, certain plants had to be moved to sunnier areas because of the shade of the nearby trees. In the middle of the garden is a commemorative Shakespeare plaque, with the line, “Of all flowers methinks a rose is best,” from his play The Two Noble Kinsmen.Finally, there is the Miniature Rose Garden, which displays the winners of the American Rose Society and All-America Rose Selection annual contests. It is also one of six sites in the country for the ARS miniature rose test program.