Berkeley Rose Garden & Codornices Park

Norm and I took a break while previewing homes up in the Berkeley Hills to enjoy a bit of sunshine at the Berkeley Rose Garden.

The Rose Garden was one of the first Civil Works Progress Projects under the Works Project Administration (WPA), the Rose Garden was conceived in 1933 and completed and dedicated for public use in September, 1937.

East Bay rose societies and community members donated hundreds of hours of volunteer time. The terraced amphitheatre and 220-foot-long redwood pergola was suggested by architect Bernard Maybeck; the final design and execution were the work of landscape architect Vernon M. Dean and rose specialist C. V. Covell.

Besides row upon row of gorgeous fragrant roses, the Berkeley Rose Garden has a redwood pergola, four tennis courts, a picnic area, scenic hiking trails, foot bridges, a semicircular terraced amphitheater, a breathtaking view of the sunset behind the Golden Gate Bridge and an ornamental pool fed by Codornices creek which runs through the garden.

The garden is a wonderful place to hold events, weddings and celebrations. The Berkeley Rose Garden is considered by many, to be the finest rose garden in Northern California with its 3,000 rose bushes and 250 varieties of roses. The roses are pruned in January in preparation for Mother's Day when the garden is in its most spectacular state.

Across Euclid Avenue from the Rose Garden is Codornices Park, which has basketball courts, a few nice sized fields and this sweet concrete slide.



Additional Rose Garden info: (wikipedia, BAHA Entry)

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