Roses are an important feature of the Timaru District landscape. Locally you can find roses flowering from November until July.

Timaru has a fine collection of Old Roses. These are a style of rose that is bred to have a shorter flatter flower, rather than the taller tapering flower of Modern Roses. This is largely as a result of the legacy of the late Trevor Griffiths, a local rosarian, who specialized in growing and writing about old roses.

He has given his name to our most significant rose garden which is located at Caroline Bay adjacent to the piazza. The Trevor Griffiths Rose Garden is recognized by the World Federation of Rose Societies as a Garden of Excellence. It has also been awarded the status of Garden of National Significance by the New Zealand Gardens Trust. This garden is at its peak at the end of November and beginning of December.

See related information for the Trevor Griffiths Rose Garden lists of rose names by bed number and alphabetically.

The Temuka, Geraldine, Pleasant Point and Timaru urban areas all have flower carpet roses blooming in street plots for long periods of the year. In addition Timaru has a vibrant red floribunda rose called 'Trumpeter' which is named after Louis Armstrong, the renowned trumpet player.

Geraldine and Temuka Domains also have colourful rose gardens.

Within the Timaru Botanic Gardens are the Species Rose Garden, the Anderson Rose Garden and other rose collections. The Species Rose Garden in particular is a must see. It is a collection of many species and naturally occurring roses that show how roses used to grow before rose breeders began selecting for flowers at the expense of other traits. You will see a range of brightly coloured hips in autumn, huge thorns, expansive ramblers and roses from a large geographic range in the northern hemisphere.

Last updated: 16 Sep 2021