The Giardino dell'Iris is a botanical garden

Botanical garden

A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...

 specializing in the cultivation of iris

Iris (plant)

Iris is a genus of 260-300species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species...

 flowers, symbol of Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

 since 1251. It is located on the corner of Viale dei Colli and Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, and open daily without charge from May 2-20 every year.

The garden is owned by the Società italiana dell'Iris, which has opened the garden to the public since hosting the annual "International dell'Iris" in 1954. It is almost entirely devoted to iris

Iris (plant)

Iris is a genus of 260-300species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species...

plants, with more than 1,500 (variously 2,500) varieties on display during the annual competition. The garden contains a pond is for the cultivation of aquatic varieties and provides an excellent view of Florence and its surrounding hills.