Jardin des Plantes d'Angers
Encyclopedia
The Jardin des Plantes d'Angers (4 hectares) is a municipal park and botanical garden
located on Place Pierre Mendès France, Angers
, Maine-et-Loire
, Pays de la Loire
, France
. It is open daily without charge.
The garden was first established in 1777 by Doctor Luthier de La Richerie, founder of the Société des Botanophiles, as an amateur's botanical garden in response to Anger's first such garden, maintained by the Faculty of Medicine circa 1740-1750. Its first location was on the Château Gontier and Bressigny roads, near today's rue Béclard, but that site proved too small and its rental too uncertain. Therefore in 1789 the society purchased the former property of the Benedictines of Saint Sergius at the bottom of the valley Saint-Samson, which forms today's Jardin des Plantes.
The site was cleared in the winter of 1790-1791, and in 1791 Merlet de La Boulaye gave the first free, public course on botany; in the following year, he wrote out a list in alphabetical order of the garden's collections, including the first magnolia
in Angers and an agave
from America. The city purchased the grounds of the Saint-Samson church shortly afterwards, and merged them with the botanical garden, with the result declared national property in 1792.
By 1811 the garden contained more than 2,000 plants arranged in two sections: the School of Botany in the lower part and collections of foreign trees and seed-bearing plants in the upper. It also contained an orangery
flanked by two greenhouse
s. The garden was further extended in 1834, and in the late 19th century the School of Botany gradually transferred to the school of medicine, where it forms today's Jardin botanique de la Faculté de Pharmacie d'Angers
. The remaining garden was completely remodeled in 1901-1905 by noted landscape architect Édouard André
, famous for his parks in Monte Carlo
and Montevideo
; today's current garden is in his English style with a cascading stream. A new menagerie
was installed soon after 1945, and an aviary
, and the old greenhouses removed in 1962. The garden's last expansion occurred in 1967 when 2500 m² was added as a rock garden
.
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
located on Place Pierre Mendès France, Angers
Angers
Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....
, Maine-et-Loire
Maine-et-Loire
Maine-et-Loire is a department in west-central France, in the Pays de la Loire region.- History :Maine-et-Loire is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. Originally it was called Mayenne-et-Loire, but its name was changed to Maine-et-Loire in 1791....
, Pays de la Loire
Pays de la Loire
Pays de la Loire is one of the 27 regions of France. It is one of the regions created in the late 20th century to serve as a zone of influence for its capital, Nantes, one of a handful so-called "balancing metropolises" ¹...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It is open daily without charge.
The garden was first established in 1777 by Doctor Luthier de La Richerie, founder of the Société des Botanophiles, as an amateur's botanical garden in response to Anger's first such garden, maintained by the Faculty of Medicine circa 1740-1750. Its first location was on the Château Gontier and Bressigny roads, near today's rue Béclard, but that site proved too small and its rental too uncertain. Therefore in 1789 the society purchased the former property of the Benedictines of Saint Sergius at the bottom of the valley Saint-Samson, which forms today's Jardin des Plantes.
The site was cleared in the winter of 1790-1791, and in 1791 Merlet de La Boulaye gave the first free, public course on botany; in the following year, he wrote out a list in alphabetical order of the garden's collections, including the first magnolia
Magnolia
Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol....
in Angers and an agave
Agave
Agave is a genus of monocots. The plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once and then dies ; they are commonly known as the century plant....
from America. The city purchased the grounds of the Saint-Samson church shortly afterwards, and merged them with the botanical garden, with the result declared national property in 1792.
By 1811 the garden contained more than 2,000 plants arranged in two sections: the School of Botany in the lower part and collections of foreign trees and seed-bearing plants in the upper. It also contained an orangery
Orangery
An orangery was a building in the grounds of fashionable residences from the 17th to the 19th centuries and given a classicising architectural form. The orangery was similar to a greenhouse or conservatory...
flanked by two greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
s. The garden was further extended in 1834, and in the late 19th century the School of Botany gradually transferred to the school of medicine, where it forms today's Jardin botanique de la Faculté de Pharmacie d'Angers
Jardin botanique de la Faculté de Pharmacie d'Angers
The Jardin botanique de la Faculté de Pharmacie d'Angers is a botanical garden and arboretum operated by the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Angers...
. The remaining garden was completely remodeled in 1901-1905 by noted landscape architect Édouard André
Édouard André
Édouard François André was a French horticulturalist, landscape designer, as well as a leading landscape architect of the late 19th century, famous for designing city parks and public spaces of Monte Carlo and Montevideo....
, famous for his parks in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
and Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
; today's current garden is in his English style with a cascading stream. A new menagerie
Menagerie
A menagerie is/was a form of keeping common and exotic animals in captivity that preceded the modern zoological garden. The term was first used in seventeenth century France in reference to the management of household or domestic stock. Later, it came to be used primarily in reference to...
was installed soon after 1945, and an aviary
Aviary
An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds. Unlike cages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages...
, and the old greenhouses removed in 1962. The garden's last expansion occurred in 1967 when 2500 m² was added as a rock garden
Rock Garden
The Rock Garden or Rock Garden of Chandigarh is a Sculpture garden in Chandigarh, India, also known as Nek Chand's Rock Garden after its founder Nek Chand, a government official who started the garden secretly in his spare time in 1957. Today it is spread over an area of forty-acres , it is...
.
See also
- Jardin botanique de la Faculté de Pharmacie d'AngersJardin botanique de la Faculté de Pharmacie d'AngersThe Jardin botanique de la Faculté de Pharmacie d'Angers is a botanical garden and arboretum operated by the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Angers...
- List of botanical gardens in France
- Terra BotanicaTerra Botanica- See also :* Jardin botanique de la Faculté de Pharmacie d'Angers* Jardin des Plantes d'Angers* List of botanical gardens in France...