Pending the reopening of the botanical garden, you can admire "Roses in a Row", a photo-itinerary that reconstructs the millennial history of horticultural roses, through 120 specimens divided into species, ancient varieties and modern varieties.
The path starts with wild species and double-flowered natural hybrids, appreciated and used for ornamental value since ancient times. In the sector dedicated to them, we also find the very special R. foetida var. bicolor with flowers that, on the same plant, can be yellow, red or two-colour.
We then move on to the ancient varieties and their groups: 'Cardinal de Richelieu' (Gallica group), 'Maxima' (Alba), 'Louise Odier' (Bourbon), 'Kazanlik' (Damascena), 'Petite de Hollande' (Centifolia), 'Félicité Parmentier' (probable cross between R. alba and R. damascena). In this area, the beauty and intense aroma of the flowers is absolutely striking.
We then continue with the Chinese roses that herald the modern ones. Their arrival in Europe in the eighteenth century opens new scenarios for hybridizers thanks to the reflowering and extraordinary colours of the flowers. Some examples: 'OldBlush', an ancient Chinese hybrid with a light scent and full flower, from which the Noisette derive; 'Mutabilis', with young bronze-coloured leaves and butterfly-shaped flowers, from yellow to pink to crimson; Rosa giganteae 'Sanguinea', with intensely coloured flowers.
It is from the Chinese roses that the Tea roses derive and from these the Hybrid Tea Rose: 'La France', the first Tea hybrid obtained in 1867 which conventionally marks the transition from old to modern roses. Two years later, 'PaulNeyron' with large, fragrant pink flowers, was obtained. This rose was also mentioned in the novel The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa.
Among the modern ones, there are samples from the Re-flowering Hybrids cultivars such as 'Louis Van Houtte', from the work of Italian hybridizers such as 'Signora Piero Puricelli' by Aicardi and 'Purity' by Quinto Mansuino, the English Roses by Austin with ConstanceSpry® and many others such as 'New Down' descended from Rosa wichurana and 'Frühlingsgold' obtained from Rosa spinosissima, in addition to examples of the Poulsen roses with 'Kirsten Poulsen'.
A sector of the modern roses is especially dedicated to colour with Double Delight® whose petals change the colour based on exposure to the sun, Edgar Degas® with a mottled flower, "Clair Matin" with dark pink buds and white flowers, Bettina, Cl® with petals of shades of orange, 'Captain Christy' an intense pink with a darker centre of the flower.
Against the walls of the large greenhouses, there are some examples of Ramal roses with long flexible stems such as 'Romeo', the climbers with the most rigid stems and the pillars suitable for covering struts and trellises.
Lastly, the itinerary includes the Roses of the Plebiscite with some of the award-winning roses of the competition organized in 1878 by the Horticultural Society of Wittstock (Prussia), including 'Gloire de Dijon', a Noisette from 1850 included - due to its popularity - in the Old Rose Hall of Fame of the World Federation of Roses Societies