Parc i Roserar de Cervantes, Barcelona

Parc i Roserar de Cervantes is a public park devoted to roses, created in honour of Miguel de Cervantes. It opened in 1965, designed by Lluís Riudor, and now holds more than ten thousand rose bushes in around 245 varieties. In Barcelona’s mild Mediterranean climate, flowering lasts from about April until November, with its fullest display in May and June.

Every year, breeders present new roses here after years of crossing and selection, giving each variety its own name. The park also contains public sculpture, including Andreu Alfaro’s twin rhombuses, made from anodised aluminium in 1977. A bamboo rose planted in April 2011 commemorates people affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Its story joins horticulture, remembrance and public art in a single garden.