You might have missed the Tyler Rose Festival (Plan to go next year.), but there are still things to see and do on a day trip to Tyler, Texas.  For starters, the Rose Garden and Rose Museum are open year round.

Visiting the Tyler Rose Garden made my heart sing.

Rows and rows of roses fill the beds.

There are also beautiful water features throughout the gardens.

The area is gorgeous, and it would be a wonderful place to visit any time.

The roses are amazing.  A sign at the front door mentioned that the rose garden was recovering from last winter’s severe freeze, but there were still plenty of beautiful roses for our pleasure.

 

One lady was seriously studying the different roses.  We first noticed her at the Rose Show.  She was carefully taking notes in a journal.  Visiting the Tyler Rose Garden can be an education.

Inside the Rose Center, is the Rose Museum.

Sweet Mother of Pearl!  This was the 81st Rose Festival, and all Rose Festivals that have taken place in years 1-80 are documented within these walls. (I bet it will not be long until the 81st Festival is on display.)   Plus, the rose industry in this area is well documented.

Rose queens and their courts donate their gowns to the museum. (They get a tax deduction to help recoup some of the money they have spent.)  Here you can view the gowns and observe the detail beadwork on each gown.  I bet the trains are sixteen feet long.

Friend Diane wrote me that one of her neighbors in Dallas is the seamstress for many of the gowns worn in the festival.  Can you imagine?

This all white gown was spectacular.

Large showcases hold more lavish gowns and even an escort’s suit.

Display boards showcase each queen and her court.

Tiaras and scepters fill cases in one room.

There is even a replica of the original crown.

It is not quite like seeing the crown jewels, but for Tyler, Texas, it is impressive.

A couple of documentaries detailed the history of the Rose Festival, and the Smith County rose industry.  They were very informative.  In 1933, a Tyler businessman visited the Chicago World’s Fair and noticed a room filled with roses.  When he asked where they got the roses, he was told that they came from a little town in Texas called Tyler.  He came home with the intent of promoting Tyler’s rose industry.  Within six weeks time, the first Rose Festival was held.

In 1939, Texas A&M upset top-ranked Villanova and won the National Championship.  This game further put Tyler and the Rose Festival in the limelight.  What a story!

 

Be still my heart.  I loved the displays of Madam Alexander dolls dressed in copies of the queen’s gowns.

There is so much more to see at the museum than I have shared.  Truthfully, we did not see all that there was to see or read all there was to read.  I guess that means we need to return to Tyler.  I hear the Azalea and Spring Flower Trails (March 20-April 5, 2015) are also worth a trip.  I am putting that on my calendar.

Blessings to you and yours,