The Old Parliament House rose gardens are in full bloom, with tours available for bookings throughout November. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
Flower enthusiasts can learn about horticulture and history as the National and Old Parliament House rose gardens show off their vibrant and fragrant beauty throughout November.
The National Rose Gardens received an upgrade in 2025 and were recently formally re-opened to the public.
Visitors will notice new rose varieties scattered among the beds, which represent each state and territory of Australia.
National Capital Authority Horticultural Projects senior officer Brad Doherty explained this was able to happen as the previous flowers weren’t heritage-listed.
“Only the colour and layout of the garden beds are heritage-listed so then, when you look at that from an aerial shot, it looks like a rose petal opening,” he said.
“That’s why those garden beds are in a round circle motion out there.”
Hybrid tea roses are the main breeds chosen for the National Rose Gardens as part of the refresh.
Mr Doherty said they tried to choose varieties that were more suitable for Canberra’s climate.
“[We also considered] climate change in that equation, as we’re going to get hotter summers, warmer winters and all that kind of stuff, so we’ve picked roses that will tolerate that out there a lot more,” he said.
“My favourite one [in those gardens] is Golden Child … it’s a bright yellow rose, it’s quite spectacular.”
If you’re after more information about roses, step across the road from the National Rose Gardens and step into the ones around Old Parliament House.
There are more than 4000 bushes in bloom throughout November, from across 500 varieties.
They pay homage to famous people including Queen Elizabeth II, William Shakespeare, Sir Donald Bradman, Princess of Wales, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, Fred Hollows, Jayne Austin, Mary Queen of Scots, Leonardo de Vinci and Elizabeth Arden, among others.
Mr Doherty said the Abraham Lincoln was his favourite rose within the garden walls.
“It’s got a good balance of smell, the colour, and it’s very big,” he explained.
“[The flower itself] sort of goes from a darker red on the outer edge as it ages, and then the smell’s quite outstanding on it too.
“So it’s a good, round, balanced rose – where some of the new roses you have, they lose their colour. They have brighter colour [but] lose their scent.”
Some of the rare varieties include the Butterfly Rose or Rosa chinensis ‘Mutabilis’, a hardy rose from China famous for flowers that continuously change colour from yellow-apricot to pink and deep crimson.
Mr Doherty said it had never been hybridised or bred with other varieties, making it very unique.
“The colour changes are exactly like what it does in the wild, so when it was found in the wild and before it came into cultivation and spread across the world, it would have done that exact same thing,” he said.
The Persian-Damask rose (Rosa Damascena) is the most fragrant rose in the world, whose scent has been captured and preserved in the form of rose oil and rose water dating back to ancient times in the Middle East.
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For those wanting to learn more about the history of the rose varieties – and the gardens themselves – tours are being held every Tuesday and Sunday throughout November.
Mr Doherty said there was always something different to learn about the garden’s 99-year history.
“There’s a lot of major history through the gardens, but also [about] the collection of the roses we have,” he said.
All the perfect excuse to stop and smell the roses.
Old Parliament House rose garden tours are held at 9:30 am each Tuesday and Sunday in November. Tickets can be purchased here.
