ST. PAUL, Ore. - Convincing your husband to take you to see a rose garden? Exhausting.  Your husband admitting that he really enjoyed it? Priceless.

After much cajoling, whining and using the "I could turn this into a story for work" card, I convinced my husband that the sign pointing us in the direction of Heirloom Roses would take us to a place worth seeing.

We were spending the weekend in our RV at Champoeg State Park and spotted the sign while heading into nearby Newberg for a few supplies. 

"Heirloom Roses... hmmm, that sounds kind of neat," I said, to which the response from my husband was silence and a far-off kind of look - a clear sign that this was going to take some work.

It did take some work, but we made it to Heirloom Roses that weekend and by the time we were done, my husband admitted that he had really enjoyed the time we spent there.

The first thing you notice when you step foot in one of their three large gardens is the aroma.  The smell is absolutely fantastic.

The next thing you notice is that each rose bush is clearly labeled so you know exactly what you are looking at.  This is particularly helpful for those of us (myself included) who can normally only identify a rose as a 'white one' or a 'red one.'

There are also a number of benches in the gardens where you can sit for a moment, enjoy the quiet peacefulness of it all and admire the gorgeous colors that surround you.

Visiting the gardens at Heirloom Roses is absolutely free, but you will be quite tempted to buy some of the rose varieties for your own garden, which they are more than happy to sell you right from their on-site nursery or from their Web site.

There is also a rather nice gift shop with gardening supplies, books about roses, cute trinkets and much more.  I especially liked the tiny teacups that were hanging from a small rack and the butterfly patio set just outside.

We spent a good hour or so at Heirloom Roses, but you could easily stay there longer because there is so much to see.  We visited the weekend of July 12 and the roses were in full bloom.

Directions

• Heirloom Roses is located at 24062 N.E. Riverside Drive in St. Paul, Oregon. Get specific directions here.

Hours

• Open 7 days a week (closed major holidays and on Sundays in November, December and January).
• Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. from October - April and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from May - September.

(All photos by Shannon L. Cheesman, KATU.com)