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Somerset County Launches Rose Garden Season with Guided Tours and Annual Rose Day Festival

Celebration at Colonial Park Garden’s Rudolf W. van der Goot Rose Garden Runs May 29 – June 8 Bracketing the 50th Anniversary “Rose Day Festival” on Sat., June 7
Posted on: May 23, 2025 - 10:38am
Somerset County Launches Rose Garden Season with Guided Tours and Annual Rose Day Festival
It's Rose Garden Season at the Rudolf W. van der Goot Rose Garden

SOMERSET, NJ -- The Somerset County Park Commission is celebrating the summer season with its annual Rose Day Festival and guided tours at the Rudolf W. van der Goot Rose Garden in Colonial Park Gardens. The popular annual celebration centers around the more than 3,000 stunning roses in a rainbow of vibrant colors, bringing visitors from throughout Central Jersey to enjoy the Garden’s peak bloom.

“The Rose Day Festival and tours are a great way to kick off the summer surrounded by the peak of spring rose blooms,” said Somerset County Commissioner Paul Drake, liaison to the Somerset County Park Commission. “The Rose Festival and tours launch a summer of beauty at the Colonial Park public gardens as they change with the seasons through October.”

Tour participants will be led through the Rose Garden by an experienced and friendly Rosarian during peak bloom to learn about the incredible diversity of roses, care for home gardeners, and the fascinating history of the celebrated flower. Pre-registration for the guided tours is required and costs $10 per person. The tours will be held as follows:

  • Evening Tours – Thursdays, May 29 and June 5, at 6 p.m.
  • Morning Tours – Sundays, June 1 and June 8, at 10 a.m.

The Rose Day Festival, celebrated for the past half-century, opens at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 7 and runs through 5 p.m. with activities for the family, bands playing everything from acoustic to zydeco, and picnicking on the lawn with food brought from home or participating food vendors. Guests who wish to enjoy the musical entertainment and/or picnic at the Rose Day Festival are encouraged to bring a blanket or folding chair for their comfort.

The bands accompanying the roses will be as follows:

  • 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Borderline (Bluegrass Trio)
  • 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. – Zydeco-a-Go-Go (Zydeco & Cajun)
  • 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. – Akeylah Simone (R&B, Rock & Jazz)

Although Festival admission is free, donations are appreciated and there will be rose plants for residents to purchase and bring home. The Rose Day Festival is open to all ages and will be held rain or shine, but please leave the pets at home as they are not permitted in the Rose Garden.

The Rudolf W. van der Goot Rose Garden is located at the Colonial Park Gardens, 156 Mettlers Road, Parking Lot A in Somerset, NJ. Though the Rose Garden is free for the public to visit from April to October, donations are appreciated. For more information visit www.somersetcountyparks.org or call 908-722-1200, ext. 5721. Individuals with hearing or speech impairment can contact the Relay Service at 711.

Rudolf W. van der Goot Rose Garden

In 2015, the Rudolf W. van der Goot Rose Garden received the World Federation of Rose Societies Award of Excellence and is noted for being one of the world’s finest rose gardens. Since the creation of the garden, caretakers have maintained its integrity and its collection of more than 3,000 roses in 345 varieties, which include heritage and newer prize-winning cultivars.

About The Somerset County Park Commission
The Park Commission is committed to excellence in promoting stewardship of land and resources, providing outstanding recreation opportunities and leisure services, and fostering an environment that is service oriented and responsive to the public’s needs.