At the Municipal Rose Garden in San Jose the smell is overwhelmingly luxurious.
Names like love song, white delight, jump for joy, sparkle & shine, passionate kisses speak to the traditional use of roses as a gift for the loved one.
Here you see a lot of people stopping and smelling the roses, taking pictures and wandering in awe. A perfect location for wedding photos.
Only 1.5 miles to the north, up Naglee Ave is San Jose’s Heritage Rose Garden. First I thought it odd to 
have two rose garden so close to each other. But the two could not be more different. There was no one else around when I explored the garden. So close to the street I thought the smell was fuel, but I only had to wait a few minutes to realize the the garden is on the flight path of San Jose airport and most likely the smell was kerosene. In between planes it is actually a quiet place and the amount of roses shows that the purpose of this garden is to preserve them. With almost 3,500 plants and 3,000 varieties from heritage to modern to miniature roses, this is an amazing experience. So, if you are a true rose aficionado this might be the place for you.
Where do you stop and smell the roses?
Ah, roses, my favorite! You should come up to Golden Gate Park and check out the rose garden there sometime.
Hah hah, I just realized my avatar is actually a pic of me lying under some roses in that very place ?
That’s great! Let’s plan for a photo safari there. 😀