The Portland Gold Award is given annually by the Portland Rose Society to new rose cultivars that demonstrate exceptional performance in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

of the United States. The first award was given in 1919 by the city of Portland, Oregon.

History

The Portland Rose Society began as an informal rose society in 1888, organized by Georgiana Pittock, wife of the first Oregonian publisher,

Henry Pittock Henry Lewis Pittock (March 1, 1835 – January 28, 1919) was an English-born American pioneer, publisher, newspaper editor, and wood and paper magnate. He was active in Republican politics and Portland, Oregon civic affairs, a Freemason and an a ...

. The first rose competition was held in Pittock's garden. She had been inspired to form the gardening club after a holiday in England, where she toured rose gardens and attended a rose show. The next year, Pittock turned her backyard rose competition into a fundraiser for her church. She added a judging tent to her garden and charged admission to the event. This annual event would later include a city parade, where local gardeners would strip their gardens of all but competition roses to decorate cars, horses, floats and wagons. From these early beginnings, the

Portland Rose Festival The Portland Rose Festival is an annual civic festival held during the month of June in Portland, Oregon. It is organized by the volunteer non-profit Portland Rose Festival Association with the purpose of promoting the Portland region. It inclu ...

was born. The group officially established the Portland Rose Society as a formal gardening organization in 1907, and established the annual tradition of a judged, flower competition. It is the oldest and largest rose society in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

History

Portland Gold Award winners

See also

Notes

References