3 Under-the-Radar Bay Area Rose Gardens to Stroll for Free This Summer

And in the South Bay, perhaps you’ve seen the gigantic San Jose Municipal Rose Garden and its next-door Heritage Rose Gardens, which are famed for their enormous footprints and expansive varieties of the plants.

Lucky for us, the Bay Area holds even more under-the-radar options for rose lovers looking for a romantic stroll, a contemplative break from the bustle of daily life or simply a scenic (and free) place to stroll with a coffee. A time and a space, if you will, to simply stop and smell the roses.

Read on for three more local and blooming rose gardens around the Bay Area:

Marin Art and Garden Center, Marin

This North Bay rose garden is small but mighty, boasting 150 different species of roses all “mapped out in a pretty tight space,” said garden manager and rosarian — yes, “rosarian” is the name for a cultivator of roses — Jennifer Board.

Even so, the Marin Art and Garden Center’s roses range from miniatures to standard and climbing, hybrid and more.

This year, their first major flush came a few weeks before Mother’s Day and lasted through the holiday. But most of their roses go through three seasons, so they expect another flush in a month or two, in June or July. And “when you come to the rose garden, you will always see something blooming now through October,” Board said.

A visit to this place also offers a chance to spy wildlife in the air. In addition to the roses, their habitat garden “is lush with narrowleaf and showy milkweed, and so the monarch [butterflies] are dancing about that right now,” she said. They also have several ponds and fountains that make good habitat for dragonflies and birds as well as a redwood grove.

Cost: The Marin Art and Garden Center is free to enter and is open to foot traffic from sunrise to sunset every day. The parking lot and public restrooms are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Pro tip: Board recommended coming Mondays through Fridays, when the offices are open. That way you have the best chance of catching a staff member to ask questions and learn more about the roses you’re seeing. And if you can catch one of local artist Charlie Kennard’s basketry classes or see him in the garden behind the barn, you won’t be disappointed, Board said.

Morcom Rose Garden, Oakland

Described by its caretakers, Friends of the Morcom Rose Garden, as an “oasis” right here in Oakland, Morcom Garden is a 1930s-era 7-acre formal rose garden that’s “surrounded by winding paths, graceful stairways, dramatic water features, and enough natural habitat to attract and provide a sanctuary for a variety of birds.”

Garden volunteer Nancy Friedman attested that “there’s plenty of bloom down there” right now, even despite some pesky deer who love to munch on the rose buds and a series of thefts and vandalism last year that affected some of their rarest plants.

Because of California’s Mediterranean climate, blooms will persist well into the fall, she said, and even all the way to December. Then, each winter, volunteers like her “hard-prune” the bushes to encourage growth again come spring.

The garden has bathrooms and is wheelchair accessible via the Jean Street entrance, Friedman said, “so there are many different ways to approach the garden depending on people’s physical abilities.”

And if you’re looking to spend even more time in your local rose garden, Morcom is currently in need of volunteers, so you can even consider lending a hand yourself.

Cost: Morcom Rose Garden is free to enter and is open seven days a week.

Pro tip: Morcom is the perfect place for a photoshoot or celebration – groups of hundreds of people are often there to celebrate, Friedman said. But one thing is key: Leave the glitter at home.

Marion Panaretos Rose Garden, San Mateo

Managed by the San Mateo Arboretum Society, this garden in San Mateo’s Central Park is designed to “showcase the roses that do well in our area,” according to Susan Carter and Archana Singh, members of the San Mateo Arboretum Society, which developed and maintains the garden “so people can see the roses, admire them, and also know what they can plant in their gardens.”

Carter and Singh said their group chooses the roses primarily for their disease resistance, then their bloom power and finally, their fragrance.

Singh said they also tend to choose varieties that already do well in the area, so they are easy to care for. All of the roses here are labeled so that if you see one you like, you can figure out what it is and grow it at home, too.

There’s even a kiosk in the garden with a map and an alphabetical list of every type of rose growing there — so visitors “can look to see if it’s in the garden and exactly where to find it,” Carter said.

Also in Central Park, you can visit the Japanese Garden, butterfly and hummingbird garden and a new native garden.

This garden is open all year round, 24/7, and Singh said it’s especially rewarding to visit the garden at different times of day during different seasons – and get entirely different experiences each time.

From the bursting green buds to the spring flush and even late into autumn and winter, these roses “take on a glow that’s just magical,” she said.

Cost: The Marion Panaretos Rose Garden is free to enter and is open 24/7

Pro tip: Singh said the biggest hidden gem of the area is the nearby San Mateo Arboretum Society nursery and greenhouse. They do plant sales there, with plants donated by volunteers, on Saturdays and Sundays and even offer workshops throughout the year. The arboretum is only open on weekends from noon to 3 p.m.

Regardless of whether you consider yourself a “plant enthusiast” or are new to gardening, “you can visit the nursery, and you get an amazing group of volunteers helping you out with the plantings,” Singh said.