The Rose Garden or Giardino delle Rose in Florence is situated near Oltrarno towards the left banks of the River Arno. It is a park which is on the hills near the Piazalle Michelangelo leading westwards to Viale Joseph Poggi. It offers one of the best views of the city of Florence.

In 1865 when Florence became the capital of Italy the municipality began beautifying the city. It commissioned Giuseppe Poggi to design the Giardino delle Rose in the style of French gardens. In May 1895 it was opened to the public to commemorate the “Festival of Art and Flowers” conducted by the Horticultural and Fine Arts Societies of Italy.
 
The Rose garden has over four hundred varieties of roses and several thousand plants. Although admission is free it is open for only six weeks of the year from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. It is open from the first of May to the sixteenth of June when the roses are in full bloom. The temperate climate of Florence is very conducive to the flowering of roses and if you love roses and all other flowers like I do try to visit Florence in summer. You will definitely get enamoured by the beauty and fragrance of the different types of roses including ancient and modern ones. 
 
The gardens consist of a main terrace in the middle and four distinctive areas. It has It has beautiful fountains surrounding the rose bushes. Besides roses the gardens has a lot more to offer. It has a beautifully designed Japanese garden and a Secret garden. It also offers a breathtaking view of Florence, the Arno Valley and the surrounding beautiful hills.

The iris has been blooming in the city of Florence as far back as memory goes. The Florentines identified this beautiful flower with their native city to such an extent that they adopted it for its symbol.

The Giglio, as the iris is called in Florence, was the sign of the Ghibellini in the Middle Ages. Their ensign depicted a white giglio (pronounced geel-yo) against a crimson background. But the Ghibellini were defeated by the Guelfs who came up with the idea that a reversal of the colours would fittingly symbolize the overthrow of their rivals. So they adopted the symbol of a crimson iris against a white background. And so it remains to this day.

The stylized Florentine iris has two stamen positioned between the petals, and roots growing downward, symbolizing heaven and earth, growth and stability. The flower itself stands for purity

The symbol was emblazoned on banners and etched on the first silver coins of the Republic and then on gold Florin. Today, it adorns jewellery knick-knacks, even pastries and confectionery.

Catherine de Medici took the flower with her when she went to France, and it was adopted by that country, where it is more commonly referred to as the fleur-de-lis.

The Iris once bloomed everywhere in Florence, on rooftops and terraces. The banks of the river Arno were home to long stretches of the wild white Iris. Today, the flower is not so common in the city of Florence, but you can feast your eyes on beauty if you visit the Podere dei Bastioni, a garden devoted to the Iris. It has a whopping 2500 varieties of this flower, in myriad colours and unique shapes. The entrance is from the Piazzale Michelangelo, and there is no charge, so come along and wander along the slopes of the hill east of the Piazzale Michelangelo, between 10 am and 12 noon, and again from 3 pm to 7 pm.

The garden is open from the for the first three weeks in May, and each year, there’s an international competition for Iris breeders, which draws enthusiastic participation. Ever since the crimson Iris became the emblem of Florence, breeders have been trying to develop a flower of that shade, and each year, the Gold Florin Prize is awarded to the bloom that comes closest to that particular shade of red.

Do look out for the iris when you’re in Florence, you won’t find it hard, since it’s the leit motif of the city. If you want to carry away something really special to remind you of your visit, choose from one of several brands of exquisite perfume distilled from the flower, and the fragrance of Florence will linger in your life.