Are the roses blooming early this year?

I went to a rose garden earlier in the week. Obviously, having gone out of my way to visit a rose garden I had anticipated that I might see some roses! But much to my delight, there were far more in bloom than I had expected. Normally roses peak in the second half of May in Saitama Prefecture where I live. The best time to see them is usually around May 18th to 20th or thereabouts. But this year I think it could possibly May 13th to 15th, or thereabouts. 

One of the largest rose festivals in Saitama Prefecture has already started, another will start on Monday, but most are on the weekend of May 17th. I had visited early to avoid the crowds, but had thought I would only see a few in bloom. If the garden I visited this past week is anything to go by, I think the roses have started to bloom earlier than normal this year?

I've no doubt that there will still be roses in bloom, in the second half of May. But I also think that if you are planning to see roses this year, not to wait until later in the month. Unfortunately, there are no live rose reports the way they have sakura reports.  Likewise, few visitors post in real time on Instagram anymore, but official accounts are still pretty good at posting live updates. If the rose garden you hope to visit has a social media page, it might be a good way to check on the current condition of the roses.

Have you seen any roses in bloom yet? Moreover, are you seeing more roses than usual for the first half of May?