Three centuries of botany, sea-faring and the green fingers of the gardeners have made the gardens what they are today. Maybe you’ll be able to smell the adventure coming from the fragrances…
Its scientific reputation had already been built by the mid 18th century. In 1726 Louis the 15th ordered all ship’s captains to bring back to France seeds from the colonies and foreign lands. Opened to the public in 1829 and turned into an English garden in 1829, it continued to benefit from a never ending supply from the returning ships and the purchase of other rare varieties.
Four kilometres of paths, almost 600 fragrances and 500 varieties of bloom, including a large number of camellias and magnolias. Ranked in the top five biggest Victorian parks, it was certified Botanical Garden of Europe in 2000 and Park of Distinction by the Ministry of Culture in 2009.
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During the summer of 2017, as part of the Voyage à Nantes, the Jardin des Plantes gave carte blanche to Pedro. Throughout the park, the artist sowed XXL animals playing with the natural elements.
Next to the giant benches and Dépodepo, the new play area of Claude Ponti, the artist, influenced by art brut, gave life to a poetic and colorful bestiary: giant snake in the square of aromatic herbs, multicolored birds hidden in the magnolias, fox ...
The snake of the exhibition was dismantled in January to be shown at the "Taichung World Flora exposition" in Taïwan (nov 2018 /april 2019)
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© Marc Cortès
