THEto Bella di Monzawith ruffled double flowers and dark purple color. There Gertrude Jekyll, Dedicated to the famous English gardener, an intense pink trimmer. There Gloria of Romefragrant and with generous double flowers. These are just some of the 120 roses plants hosted in the 600 square meters of the brand new Bam Roseto (Library of the trees of Milan) – Oasis of insects and butterflies that will come inaugurated tomorrow, March 30thin Milanon a day dedicated to flowers and dance.
A gift for the Milanese and beyond, why this It will be the widest Rose collection present on the city territory. “The project came to life in 2021, three years after opening the new park to the public” he explains Francesca Colombo, who is the Bam Cultural General DirectorRiccardo Catella Foundation.
At the rose grove of Bam, flowers with personality
“The rose has deep roots in the history of humanity and in the origins of every civilization. There are about 250 natural speciesdistributed between China and North America, but Their beauty extends into a myriad of varieties derived from hybridizations and mutations. Each has its own personality, with vibrant colors to the intoxicated perfumes, and this is the reason why We decided to include 90 species and varieties in our Rosetoall selected to adapt to the climatic and environmental conditions of the park ».
«Aesthetically – continues Colombo – iThe Roseto will represent an extraordinary value: the variety of colors, shapes and perfumes will transform every corner into a visually fascinating and relaxing space. However, we do not want Roseto to be only a treasure chest of beauty, but an element integrated in the wider project of enhancing the park biodiversity. And in continuity with the vocation of Bam, we also want a place of culture, education to biodiversity and awareness of citizens on the value of green spaces in the city ».
A glimpse of the “roseto-oasis of insects and butterflies” located in the Bam Bam Park, in the neighborhood
of Porta Nuova in Milan. (Photo: Bam Stock Photographic Archive)
The roses are distributed in eight flower beds. The architects of the initiative are the landscape architects Franco Giorgetta and Gloria Montini, who worked from the start of the Trees Library project. Giorgetta is also a great rose enthusiast and has been a member of juries in international prizes dedicated to this flower. “We have chosen to combine the varieties of three or four groups, focusing on the most well -known and representative of each of the categories of the English classification cultivated,” explains Giorgetta. «They are mainly ancient roses, which over time have been forgotten and that people know little today. But there are also modern varieties, among which the Bam rose stands out, a very beautiful hybrid, specially created by Beatrice Barni of the Barni nursery. And then there are the British specimens David Austin made following the model of ancient roses ».
Wild and cultivated roses
For those who do not know it, the world of these plants is complicated. The first, great division is between wild roses, or botanical, and cultivated. At Roseto there are representatives of the First Category, including Rosa Canina, Rosa Banksiae, Rosa Gallica Officinalis And Pink muliganithe. For centuries, in the West they have been cultivated and crossed. They were ancient plants, characterized by a single spring flowering. Then, in the nineteenth century, travelers came across the Eastern species, capable of flourishing several times a yearstimulating the race to obtain new hybrids even if the ancient have continued to be crossed. Inside the green space you can make a journey into their world, between ancient and modern speciesamong those belonging to Bourbonat Moscateat Noisetteat Damascenejust to name a few.
Rosa Bourbon Louise Odier. (IPa Alamy)
Friendly plants and insects
The variation varies, there are bush and climbing specimens. But not only. In the large flower bed that surrounds the rose grove There are nittoriferous and charming plants, such as thistle, hawthorn, cabbage, viburnum. Who crosses the threshold of the Roseto, as in the rest of the park, finds an ecosystem populated by hymenoptera insects, Like bees and bombs, and lepidoptera such as the butterflies of peacock, Cavolaia Maggiore, Macone and Icaro. All have the role of pollinators, which is essential to allow wild and cultivated plants to reproduce. Nutrum plants accompanying roses, such as cabbage, are suppliers of a refuge for insect eggs and then food for larvae and caterpillars. Nettarifers, like the hawthorn, are the natural distributor in which to supply food and energy. Obviously, a park can also attract other non -pollinators and less loved insects: wasps, hornets, flies and ladybugs.
“All living beings contribute to biodiversity»Explains Gustavo Gandini, professor of animal genetics at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Milan and Guarantor of animal rights of the Municipality of Milan.
“By now the city paradoxically offers a cleaner environment than the countryside outside Milanwhere insects also refers to the practice of intensive agriculture and the use of pesticides. Creating a green area in the city without biodiversity of plants and animals no longer makes sense ». Once flows were made with a single flower, beautiful from the aesthetic point of view, but in fact a monoculture. Now It has been understood that the less mowing and more varieties of plants help to have an environment full of life. The five flowering fields are a magnet for pollinating insects. The ornamental apple trees produce berries appreciated by birds. At Pyrus Calleryana “Chanticleer” which bloom in early spring, two other peri municipalities planted in the Roseto are added.
Francesca Colombo, Bam Cultural General Director, with the homonymous rose created by the Barni nursery. Bam Avilla photographic archive.
“If you create the right habitat, animals arrive»Comments Gandini. “An example? In the tub rich in aquatic plants, the water chickens arrived, birds with black plumage and beak with a red base. It is fantastic that children can see them at their height. Nature is good for all of us who live in an anthropized environment. It is important to learn about and respect biodiversity ».
In the Roseto, hotels for solitary bees
Birds and insects that attend the park will also interact with this new area. In addition, there is a really interesting novelty. Two Bugs Hotel (Hotel for Insects) were madethanks to an international competition won by the 2nd B elementary class of the Confalonieri Institute of Milan. Made of natural materials, they offer refuge in particular to osmias and other megachilidswhich are Apoid insects, similar to bees. «Osmias are solitary bees, extraordinary and supporters of biodiversity. They lay the eggs in the cavity – like the straws of the bug hotel leaving pollen and nectar whose small larva will feed on. The hole is closed with mud and in spring, when they leave the cocoon, the cycle starts again. Megachilids, which are larger than the osmias, tap the hole with cases made of fragments of rosebone leaves, “says Gandini.
One of the “projects” for Bugs Hotel made by the pupils of the 2nd B elementary class of the Confalonieri Institute of Milan
The paths of Roseto allow children and adults to observe the work of these insects at a safe distancewhich, however, are not aggressive. They do not produce honey, but their role in nature is precious. The presence of pollinators will also be kept under control through sensors that allow you to record the hums, with the support of the Milanese universities that collaborate in this project.
A floral casket accessible to everyone
Sounds and perfumes, colors and shapes. The visit to Roseto is an effluvium of sensory stimuli. It is important that this chest of biodiversity is accessible to everyone, even to those who have some form of disability. Thanks to the collaboration with the skill ONLUS Association, the National Authority Sordi, the National Institute for Mobility Automoma of blind and partially sighted (Inmaci), Bam has activated an analysis process of Services and precautions to make Roseto space usable. There will be ramps for people with motor disabilities, LVE tactile path (Loges-Vet-Evolution) accompanied by maps for the visit of blind and partially sighted and two guides for people with cognitive disabilities.
“We have invested the contribution of an important prize that was awarded to us by the United Nationsfor the innovation of our cultural program and to make the Roseto an inclusive project that aims to improve social integration, making the area completely accessible “comments Francesca Colombo, Bam’s general cultural director.
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