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The Berkeley Rose Garden

4.5 (270 reviews)

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Eva L.

The Rose Garden in Berkeley has everything for everyone. It has at least two pergolas where you can soak up the sun and read or spend time with someone to enjoy the view. It also had hiking trails for those who want to explore. For those who want to play sports, there are tennis courts, basketball courts, and soccer fields. Lots of picnic tables surrounded by lush greens for gatherings or just to eat al fresco. You can see the Bay from the street between the gardens when the weather is clear. Beautiful relaxing place to be.

Maya V.

Had the blessing of going to the Berkeley Rose Garden in mid-June when the roses were in full bloom! It was a pleasure observing each of the color gradients and patterns of the different types of roses while also indulging in smelling each of them! It's crazy that some of them smell like citrus while others smell like alcohol, peach, or really gross hahaha. I'd love to visit again next year if I'm still in the area (:

Jessica H.

Wow, I really love this place! Free, beautiful, and as it plus it smells really nice. The roses are labeled with their species name so you can tell what kind of rose it is. Street parking is free, thought it can get crowded. Make sure you come in season so they're in bloom!

Beautiful roses in summer
Ari A.

I was blown away by how heavenly this place is. A must visit for all the rose lovers.

Annie W.

Beautiful roses!! I can just imagine what this place would look like at the height of the season. We came late in the afternoon on June 15th and the roses that were left were beautiful, but many of the plants had already reached the end of their season. Still, it's fantastic that this park is here and it's absolutely free for anyone who wants to enjoy it! I had just been to the Rose Garden at Golden Gate Park two days before and this place seems bigger than that, but maybe it's because the Berkeley Rose Garden is tiered. Regardless, this is a must visit for anyone who loves flowers. I only wish more of the roses had some scent; seems that the original rose scent has been bred out of modern day roses!

Flowers in the garden.
Marites A.

The view from up top was beautiful. We were fortunate to see all the flowers in full bloom. Not very big but worth the trip.

Terraces of roses
Hayley C.

Beautiful oasis of flowers within Berkeley. You could fill an afternoon walking the paths and taking in all the rose cultivars. If you're not up for that level of research, hanging at the top and admire the view of the bay!

Jonathan L.

What an awesome free park! I found this location on yelp and ordered some food to go and brought it here to eat. The park is very clean with lots of benches to eat. The views were amazing and it was quiet but also nice to watch people play tennis. Lots of different varieties of roses however when we went, it wasn't in season so not a lot of roses present. The park was still very fun and beautiful however. Also lots of parking everywhere!

The Berkeley Rose Garden
John D.

Keep Your Rose Clean Built in 1933 and opened in 1937 as a product of the Works Progress Administration (which was part of Roosevelt's "New Deal"--which was neither "New" nor a "Deal," but I digress...) the Berkeley Rose Garden is a 3.64-acre park nestled in one of Berkeley's nicer neighborhoods. The Good: *1,500 Rose bushes and 250 varieties *Picnic areas *Restrooms *I love the multi-level amphitheater-style layout of the garden. *As promised, lots and lots of roses! *Free street parking but watch the signage as some of the parking is resident permit parking. The Meh *Aforementioned restrooms were closed when we visited on a Sunday, so I'm not sure if that's SoP or a SnAfU? *The park, as a whole, is in dire need of some TLC; everything is overgrown, and some walkways are completely covered up by the overgrowth, rendering them useless. *The water feature running thru the middle would be a really nice touch, but it too was a big mess Hill of plywood and other debris. The Ugly: *Park is adjacent to a tennis court, so you'll get to hear some nice yelling and souts of encouragement from Richard Williams, Juniors over there... TLDR: Nice place to visit if you're in the area, but it's not worth going out of your way. If you're looking for a truly superlative Rose Garden, I highly recommend San José's Municipal Rose Garden as an alternative suggestion.

Photo of the garden in the Fall 9/24/23 Sunday
Lorissa W.

This garden is a good size and the view is quite pretty from afar (see photo). The large steps remind me of an Egyptian pyramid. During the Fall, most roses are gone replaced by rose hips and dried leaves. It's free and there are tennis courts across the garden and very clean bathroom. There's also a big park across with good hiking trails. Recommended when it's in season!

Innumerable roses in bloom during our late September visit. Incredible garden for all to enjoy free of cost. Many benches to sit and relax, some shaded. Quite tranquil.

Heliana M.

What a gorgeous place. We have been loving the Morcom Rosw Garden in Oakland so really wanted to check out the Berkeley rose garden. What views on top. Breathtaking. Clearly can see golden gate Bridge on a clear sunny day Beautiful garden with amazing smelling roses and such raw nature around it filled with trees and greenery! Beautiful for any age and deadly sunsets here I can only imagine!

Jo W.

Can't believe it's taken me roughly a decade to finally write a review for the Berkeley Rose Garden. Even when off-season, this free garden is a delight to visit and walk around in and admire the view of the Bay Area from. There are a handful of benches to sit upon and relax, and there are a few paths to explore walking around. A wonderful and romantic date spot!

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18 years ago

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20 years ago

Years ago had a really hot date under a bright full moon in summer and we had plastic cups to drink some red wine. Best to go in pairs.

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18 years ago

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9 years ago

Beautiful place! Definitely worth checking out if you're in the Berkeley area! It's a breath of fresh air

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15 years ago

it's a nice place to take some snacks, sandwiches, or lite lunch.

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14 years ago

this is a very lovely place... i went for a picnic with my girlfriend and had a great time... next time i'll actually look at the flowers :)

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Ask the Community - The Berkeley Rose Garden

Can I have a two person picnic here?

Yes, there is a table near the entrance where two people could sit and have a picnic. There aren't fields for sitting in the grass with a picnic blanket though.

Is it busy on Saturdays or do we need a permit to take pictures for like a sweet 16 photoshoot?

I doubt if a permit is ever needed at Berkeley Rose Garden for picture-taking, unless the filming or picture-taking is for using in an advertisement or for some other commercial purpose.

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Review Highlights - The Berkeley Rose Garden

A great place for a family outing or a date, there is a nice view of the bay and the bridge from the top too.

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Codornices Park

Codornices Park

4.6(161 reviews)
0.1 miBerkeley Hills

This park is just really cool. On afternoons and weekends it's usually packed full of people. It…read morecan be hard at times to find a parking spot but shouldn't be too difficult to park on a side street if needed. There are several parts to this park. One is a flat area with a play scape and a cement slide. There's actually a tunnel nearby that goes under the road and crosses over to the rose garden, which is really cool. The cement slide is a must see for anyone with kids and even if you're an adventurous adult. There are plenty of cardboard boxes around for you to try it out. When I first heard about the cement slide, I didn't think it would be very fun, (cement and sliding didn't go together in my mind) but it is great! Then just a little bit south, above that play scape area, there's a baseball field. So many different people come here to meet. Some people for picnics, some people play soccer, some people play softball, some people bring their dogs. And then inside the woods behind the park, there are a picnic benches. I have a friend who had her wedding reception there. You can reserve them with the city. And then behind the picnic area, there's a hike and if you're very adventurous, there is a waterfall hidden, but it's not easy to find if you don't know about it. I highly recommend this park. During the winter, the baseball field is blocked off with Fence to protect the grass but other parts of the park are accessible.

Nice park, good playground for toddlers, and for babies, nice large grassy area, sort of a mini…read morehike to walk around, some barbecue / camping table spots, right next to the rose garden, bathrooms.

Photos
Codornices Park - 01.17.2025

01.17.2025

Codornices Park
Codornices Park

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D Garcia's Landscaping - Pavers, stone fire pit with cap, wooden seating bench, deck installation project.

D Garcia's Landscaping

4.9(57 reviews)
5.9 mi
38 years in business
Family-owned & operated

D Garcia Landscaping completed a large fence project for us and we are extremely happy with the…read moreresults! This was a technically challenging project involving a steep hill and very mature redwood roots. Standout qualities of this company are: 1. Ease of quoting process Before coming out in person, they were able to give us a ballpark price based on dimensions, fence type, and site images. This allowed me to decide whether to move forward and I thought this was really respectful of my time. Then, Dago, the owner, came for the site visit and to discuss details. 2. No bait and switch In ironing out the details, there was some miscommunication about whether staining was included. Dago was able to meet us halfway with the price increase. This honest business style continued throughout the project and no change orders or unexpected price increases happened. 3. Detail oriented Throughout the project, we discussed details such as fence posts placement relative to tree roots, post height, etc. Dago was both available in person and by email via his assistant Maria. It was also nice to have responses confirmed in writing so that things were clear and there would be no bait and switch. 4. Personality Dago is a really nice person and I enjoy speaking with his about his geriatric dogs, etc. This also helped me not feel anxious about the project, because I felt that I could trust him. For this fence, we received multiple quotes. Two companies were in the $9-10K range, another was around $12K, and an outlier was above $20K. Dago's price was the lowest quote (with minute differences in material) and we are very glad we went with him!

Dago and his team are amazing! They have been maintaining our yards in El Sobrante for a few years…read moreand always to a wonderful job. They are friendly, and always go above and beyond. Recently, we had them to a full conversion/remodel of our backyard from awful weeds to nice natural grass, with an irrigation system, mulch, and tasteful plants. I was amazed with both how well it came out, and how affordable the project was! I would HIGHLY recommend using Dago Garcia's team for either regular yard maintenance, or any yard project you have in mind. Dago has decades of experience and knows exactly what he is doing- he is super friendly and helped us with great ideas. Give Dago a call!

Photos
D Garcia's Landscaping - 2x2's with decorative rock in between and artificial turf

2x2's with decorative rock in between and artificial turf

D Garcia's Landscaping - Hot tub deck with steps.

Hot tub deck with steps.

D Garcia's Landscaping - Water fall structure.

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Water fall structure.

Joe Bob Garden Service - Sidewalk after

Joe Bob Garden Service

4.8(58 reviews)
4.7 mi

So glad to have found Lauchlan to help out with ambitious tree trimming services! He came out with…read morereasonable estimates, used his expert eye to cut back branches to open up spaces and left areas very tidy. His communication is prompt, professional and friendly. He's helped out twice and been very responsive. Highly recommend Lauchlan's work and appreciate him extending his service zone to the weekend to do work in busy SF!

We needed help cleaning up our front yard and making it low-maintenance while still looking nice,…read moreand Lauchlan & his team were fantastic from start to finish. He came out to assess the space and gave us a straightforward, transparent quote that was very reasonable. As we considered what to do, he recommended great options that worked for our goals and budget. Once we decided, he scheduled the work and even sent helpful reminders leading up to the day. On the day of the project, Lauchlan was extremely communicative, providing updates throughout. He even went above and beyond, adding extra landscaping fabric he had on hand to our median strip at no cost and removing a dead bush root without charging us. They also cleaned up some weeds that were growing in the cracks of the driveway and helped soften a pre-existing slope in our yard. The whole process was quick, friendly, and stress-free, and our front yard has never looked better. Highly recommend Lauchlan if you want someone who's skilled, communicative, and genuinely cares about their work!

Photos
Joe Bob Garden Service - Sidewalk before

Sidewalk before

Joe Bob Garden Service - Huge avocado tree trimmed back safely

Huge avocado tree trimmed back safely

Joe Bob Garden Service - Lawn after

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Lawn after

Garden Mamas - Tamara Qirreh, Owner, tree hugger and plant lover.   Bringing people outdoors to enjoy their own personal oasis, one plant at a time.

Garden Mamas

4.5(15 reviews)
7.6 mi

We hired Garden Mamas to maintain our mature hillside garden. While we thought it a bit strange…read morethat we had a different crew out most every time, we were assured by Tamara that she had communicated what needed to be done - she was managing the crew. This method seemed to work mostly, although we had to tell the crew each visit what to do, as mostly instructions had been partially communicated. One day, she sent two new people. We told them to trim two bushes on the stairwell and to pick up the leaves, nothing else. This was also communicated to Tamara a few days prior, but like most times, the crew seemed clueless as to what to do. When they were done and had left, we discovered that they had BUTCHERED our garden - most of five++ years of growth was cut away and in a most unappealing fashion. Her crew ripped out plants that a previous crew had installed only a month prior, had trimmed four bushes that were covering an unsightly wall into lollipop shapes, completely exposing the wall, trimmed new growth off of once per season budding plants without any care for shape or aesthetics, butchered slow growing manzanita plants that may never recover, etc etc etc. We were appalled and contacted her. Tamara responded to our concerns, but would not or could not take personal or financial responsibility for making us whole. She told us that the crew she sent was inexperienced and had never worked on a personal, mature garden (only on storage facilities and office complexes), and that she did not have the $$ to replace the plants destroyed or to pay for someone else to replace the plants (as we told her that we could not work with her anymore). We thought about going to the CSLB so that we could at least recover her bond, but did the time/money calculus and finally settled on her paying for two plants to be replaced, at another landscaper's wholesale cost (approx $500). So far, it has cost us over $10000 to get the garden back to where it was, and it will take a few years for it to look as good as it did prior to November 2025. We tried to support this independent, woman-owned business; but her model of a different crew every time coupled with an inability to run her business in a fiscally responsible manner makes it impossible for us to recommend her to ANYONE

I hired Garden Mamas to do our landscaping at the recommendation of one of my friends. Tamara was…read moregreat to work with - very communicative and worked within our budget. The project was completed within the time she estimated. Invoicing/payment process was clear and easy. I provided photos of the types of plants I liked (from other people's yards) and they provided a list of recommendations with descriptions and pricing as well as placement suggestions. I appreciated Tamara checking in on me a a few times after they planted to see how things were going and reminding me to turn off the water during the rainy season. It's seven months later and I am still enjoying admiring and tending to my plants as they grow.

Photos
Garden Mamas
Garden Mamas
Garden Mamas

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The Berkeley Rose Garden - gardens - Updated May 2026

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