The Ooty Centenary Rose Garden also referred to as the Government Rose Garden is considered as the largest Rose garden in the Country. It was initially known by the name of Jayalalithaa Rose Garden that changed to Centenary Rose Park followed by Nootrandu Roja Poonga. However, today, it is famously known as just the Ooty Rose Garden that attracts thousands of global visitors every year to its precincts even during the non-flowering season of winter.
Also known as Ooty Rose Park, this Centenary Rose Garden is situated in the Ooty placed less than a kilometer from the famous Charring Cross town center. The Rose Garden in Ooty spans over the slopes of Elk Hill set at an altitude of 2,200 meters above MSL capturing a massive area of 10 acres lending a colourful and vibrant canvas to the valley of Ooty.
The Ooty Rose Garden was established in May 1995 at Vijayanagaram in Ooty to commemorate the Flower Show Centenary in the Government Botanical Gardens, Ooty. Here, varieties of Roses are beautifully arranged over five curving terraces that spans over 4 hectares maintained by the Tamil Nadu Horticulture Department.
The Ooty Rose Park not only large in size but also lends a soothing aromatic atmosphere to the Ooty valley where you can enjoy a spectacular view of the varied spread of Roses. Since, these Roses blossom only for 2 to 3 months in a year, it is not sensible to visit the Ooty Centenary Rose Garden during the off season period as the Garden would almost be barren.
However, if anyone wants to purchase the seeds of the Rose species and plants seeds as well, then visiting during any time of the year is feasible. The Ooty Rose Garden features more than a thousand species of Roses ranging from Red Colour to Yellow, Pink and White Colour as well. Some say that even the hybrid black rose is visible here, if you can find one.
Ooty is blessed with a pleasant and unique tropical climate which is ideal for the Roses to properly grow and bloom in full vigour. The Temperature variation in Ooty is minimal and rainfall distribution is uniform thus resulting in the long flowering season for the Roses in the Ooty Rose Park.
The Ooty Rose Garden was initially established with 1,919 varieties of roses cropping out after planting 17,256 rose plants and today this garden showcases over 20,000 varieties of Roses of the 2,800 cultivars making it renowned for housing one of the largest rose collection in the country.
The Ooty Rose Park houses a collection of roses that includes the Floribunda, Hybrid Tea Roses, Miniature Roses, Papagena, Polyanthus, Ramblers, Yakimour and even hybrid species of green and black roses that are unique and unusual to find anywhere else.
The Ooty Rose Garden was laid out with Bowers of rose creepers, Pergolas and Rose Tunnels. The garden slopes features an observation platform referred to as the Nila Maadam. From this platform, you can observe the entire range of roses covering the entire garden area, a feature that should not be missed, including a statue of an angel placed amidst the roses that is sure to captivate you.
In 2006, the Ooty Centenary Rose Garden competed and won the coveted Award of Garden of Excellence from the World Federation of Rose Societies [WFRS] for being the best garden amongst the numerous Rose gardens across the South Asian Continent, a pride not only for Ooty but also for India and the Tamil Nadu Horticulture Department. India holds the place of pride amongst the 15 Rose Gardens from across the world to win this coveted title. The Ooty Rose Garden was presented with plaques and awarded with certificates.
The varieties of planted roses within the Ooty Rose Garden are assembled from different sources brought in from various parts of the world. Capturing the central point of Ooty, this Rose Garden in Ooty is a definite sight to visit and to be admired by all visiting Ooty.
Address: Tribal Research Centre, Tribal Museum, Muthorai Palada, Ooty
