Jardin de Rosa Mir was created by Jules Senis (1913-1983). Senis was a mason who specialized in tiling. Originally from Spain, Senis headed to France in 1947 to escape from the Spanish Civil War. He and his family made a home in La Croix-Rousse, the 4th arrondissement of Lyon, France.
After being diagnosed with cancer, Senis promised that if he recovered, he would design a beautiful garden in honor of his mother, Rosa Mir Mercader. He kept his vow and began work on the garden in 1957. Senis continued to work on it for another twenty years. The space for the garden was only 400 square meters, but this did not discourage Senis from finding a way to fill it up with plants and flowers. He built parts of the garden upwards by making several tall pillars with connected arches. The structures are intricately embellished with shells and stones.
The garden is now a historical site, and it is taken care of by the City of Lyon. Visitors can view the garden on Saturdays during the summer.