The Rose Garden next to the south wing of the Palace was commissioned by August and Aleksandra Potocki in 1855-1856. The design was prepared by the architect Bolesław Paweł Podczaszyński.  The garden takes the shape of an Italian Renaissance giardino secreto – i.e. a separate garden established within a larger one and divided into small areas planted with flowers and herbs. Situated next to a building wall, a giardino secreto was usually a retreat of quiet repose. Podczaszyński’s design alludes to the Italian parterre next to the 16th century Holland House in London, whose shape and internal layout of beds it replicates. The Wilanów garden is a rectangular parterre with intersecting diagonal and parallel paths. The individual parts  of the giardino are lined with a trimmed box hedge.

The different areas in the garden are filled with roses (Rosa sp.). Visitors can feast their eyes on the wealth of varieties and species of the rose from early summer through late autumn. Most are border roses of different colours, shapes and sizes. There are also climbing roses at the pergola (Dortmund) and the Excelsa ramblers forming large trusses of small, pink flowers. Another noteworthy variety is the old Margo Koster polyantha planted in the area next to the terrace: a rose of great charm, covered with a profusion of salmon pink flowers. In addition to roses, the garden includes other seasonal (spring and summer) plants. In the spring, magnificent tulips give added appeal to the giardino, and in the summer the roses find themselves in the fitting company of heliotropes, dahlias, fuchsias and geraniums.