(Jennifer Scott/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Tyler is home to the nation’s largest municipal rose garden. It’s known as a national treasure and is appreciated by locals and tourists alike.

The Tyler Rose Garden is in bloom now.

From late April until frost, the Tyler Municipal Rose Garden blooms with over 32,000 rose bushes exhibiting approximately 600 varieties of cultivars, according to the City of Tyler. Over 100,000 people from around the world visit the Rose Garden annually.

The rose industry, which began at the turn of the century in Smith County, continues today with over one-third of the nation’s rose bushes processed, packaged and shipped from this area.

Citizens of Tyler and East Texas are invited and encouraged to view the magnificent garden, which officially opened in 1952. The garden is officially recognized as a “national treasure” on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Tyler Rose Garden is located at 420 Rose Park Dr. in Tyler. The gardens are free to the public. Regular hours are daily from sunrise to sunset.