Happy 250th Independence Day, America! The rose is America’s national flower, and as the national botanic garden, we have an entire Rose Garden dedicated to celebrate our national floral emblem!
The official designation language in 1986 noted “we hold the rose dear as the symbol of life and love and devotion, of beauty and eternity.” Not only are more than 20 species of roses native to the United States, but founding father George Washington himself grew and bred roses at Mount Vernon.
This year we are also showcasing all of America’s state flowers, and here we include two of them to add white and blue to this celebratory post. The red rose shown is an Altissimo climbing rose (Rosa ‘DELmur’). The white flowers are Idaho’s state flower the syringa (Philadelphus lewisii). And the blue are Texas’ state flower the Texas bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis).
See a list of all the state flowers at www.USBG.gov/AmericasStateFlowers, explore all of them throughout the Garden through Oct. 12, 2026, and see and smell our national flower in our Rose Garden any day spring til frost!
