A blooming scene of beauty

Werribee state rose garden. Photo by Damjan Janevski. 210478_01

By Alesha Capone

The beautiful roses at the Victoria State Rose Garden will continue to bloom into the future.

The Werribee South garden, which is home to more than 5000 roses, has been shut to the public as Victoria enters its second stage-three COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

A few days before the gates to the garden closed last week, Star Weekly photographer Damjan Janevski captured these images.

The first stage of the rose garden was officially opened during November 1986.

Nowadays, the garden is managed by Parks Victoria and the Victoria State Rose Garden Supporters Inc, a group of volunteers who are responsible tasks such as pruning, dead-heading, planting, weeding and mulching.

In 2003, the World Federation Of Rose Societies granted the Victoria State Rose Garden a ‘Garden of Excellence’ status.

In non-pandemic times, entry to the rose garden is usually free for members of the public, although a gold coin donation is appreciated.

Volunteers use the money donated to buy new roses and garden supplies.

See vicstaterosegarden.com.au/home.html for details.