The city of Belfast is coming up roses this week

The city of Belfast is coming up roses this week as the nation’s favourite flower takes central stage for the annual Rose Week at Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park.

Annual Rose Week at Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park

The world-famous rose gardens in the park, already home to 40,000 roses, are playing host to thousands of visitors with a full programme of activities, including music and entertainment for all the family. There are bee walks, floral art demonstrations, and summer stalls to browse through for plants and crafts. And in the summer rose and flower show there are spectacular displays of roses, sweet peas, pot plants, bonsai and cacti.

The centrepiece of the whole event is the International Rose Trials, in which judges assess the very latest new roses to arrive on the world stage for qualities such as flowering, fragrance, and disease resistance.

Previous winners have included garden stars like Irish-bred ‘Rebecca Mary’; ‘Heart of Gold’, released for the Rotary Club’s centenary in 2005; and ‘Avec Amour’, last year’s winner from German rose breeders Rosen Tantau.

Rose Week 2016 Winners

This year’s winners will be announced at a special dinner next Thursday at Belfast City Hall – and soon after you’ll have the chance to snap them up for your own garden from our garden centre in Pickering!