Photo= Garden visitors look around at roses in full bloom (May 18, Moriyama Rose and Herb Garden in Sazukawa-cho, Moriyama City)

Roses at Moriyama Rose and Herb Garden in Sazukawa-cho, Moriyama City, Shiga Prefecture, are currently at their finest. The colorful large flowers and their sweet fragrance are delighting visitors to the garden.

There are about 1,300 roses of 82 varieties cultivated in the approximately 3,000 square meter garden. This year, the roses burst into bloom all at once, just after the long holiday period in early May, and have been reached their peak a week to ten days earlier than usual.

Visitors took photos of the colorful roses, such as the pale purple "Shinoburedo," and the deep pink "Angela," or smelled their sweet fragrance. Hiroko Takenaga, a housewife from Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, who visited on May 18, said with a smile, "I feel very relaxed with the sweet scent wafting in the breeze."

The blooms are expected to be at their peak until the end of May. The garden is open every day until June 21. Admission fee is 200 yen for adults.