In May 2022, a major renovation of the rose garden at Tallinn Botanic Garden began. The project included cleaning the surrounding ponds, restoring retaining walls, replacing the rose bed soil, updating the plant assortment, installing a new irrigation and lighting system, and building a new pavilion.

"The rose garden is one of the oldest and most important collections of the Tallinn Botanic Garden, and its construction started on the year following the Botanic Garden's establishment in 1961. The fact that the first director of the botanic garden, Arnold Pukk, who specialized in roses, was directly involved in its construction, adds to the special character of the rose garden," said Urve Sinijärv, director of Tallinn Botanic Garden.

The rose garden with its hexagonal honeycomb hedges was designed by landscape architect Aleksander Niine.

According to Arnet Poola, curator of the Rosarium, the Tallinn Botanic Garden's rose garden is the largest known collection in Estonia in terms of the number of cultivars.

"There are over 700 cultivars here at the moment, sourced from different countries. Many people know the German and French varieties that have proven themselves in the climate of our home country, but you may also be surprised to find varieties from Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands or even Japan. We have beautiful old classics like 'Baccara', 'Gloria Dei' or 'Flammentanz', as well as modern beauties like 'Vulcano', 'Roald Dahl' or 'Spotlight'," said Poola. Poola cites Estonia's own 'Mõrsjaroos', 'Lumivalgeke' and the lily of the valley-scented 'Kevad' as important varieties," Poola explained.

More information including the full program of events is available here.

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