This arboretum was established in 1996, when dendrologists Raimonds Cinovskis and Ināra Bondare joined with the local government in Rucava in experimenting with plants on the Rucava castle hill. The first plants were planted in 1998, and ever since then the collection has been expanded in the town centre and outside the Rucava Elementary School. Each year new and exotic plants are brought in from all around the world. A traditional garden festival is held each year in May, when rhododendrons and magnolias are in full bloom.