Jardin des plantes de Nantes is a public botanical garden in the city of Nantes, covering 7.32 hectares. It is identified by the Botanic Gardens Conservation International code NTM, and its herbarium code is also NTM. Since 2004, it has been listed as a remarkable garden by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication.
The garden’s history begins in 1687, when the first botanical garden in Nantes was created under the name jardín de los boticarios. Established by main apothecaries for enjoyment on land west of Nantes, it was located along Place Graslin and dedicated solely to vegetable cultivation. In the 17th century, Nantes had no significant gardens for strolling. Pierre Chirac directed the garden as intendente del jardín de Rey and linked its role to the city’s port and Loire river access to Paris, including the acclimatization of tropical plants brought by sailors. In 1719, the garden became a royal garden subordinated to Paris’ royal medicinal plant garden. After the French Revolution, the garden was relocated to a new site. François Lemeignen later promoted a new botanical garden at the former Ursuline convent, and in 1806 prefect Belleville defined its boundaries next to the convent. Architect Félix François Ogée was assigned to design its layout.
Nearby Objects
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Nantes Museum of Arts 350 m away -
Saint-Clément 400 m away -
Cours Saint-Pierre and Saint-André 500 m away -
La Bouteillerie Cemetery 500 m away
Recognition and status
Jardin des plantes de Nantes is a public botanical garden in the city of Nantes, covering an area of 7.32 hectares. It is identified as a member of Botanic Gardens Conservation International under the code NTM, and its herbarium code is also NTM. Since 2004, it has been listed as a remarkable garden by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication.
From Apothecaries' Garden to Municipal Botanical Site
The first botanical garden in Nantes was created in 1687 and was known as the jardin de los boticarios. It was established by the main apothecaries for enjoyment on land west of Nantes, along Place Graslin, and was dedicated solely to vegetable cultivation. In the 17th century, Nantes had no significant gardens for strolling, which gives this early garden a particular place in the city's urban history.
Pierre Chirac directed the garden as intendente del jardin de Rey. He understood its role in relation to Nantes' port and its access by the Loire river to Paris, and the garden was also used to acclimatize tropical plants brought by sailors. In 1719, the jardin de los boticarios became a royal garden subordinated to the royal medicinal plant garden in Paris. It soon became too small to hold all the plants, and this limitation helped make relocation necessary.
The French Revolution prompted the move to a new site. A decree of the National Convention dated 10 June 1793 reorganized botanical gardens in France and established a four-fanegas botanical garden in each French department. In Nantes, the physician François Lemeignen promoted the creation of a new botanical garden and proposed the site of the Ursuline convent, founded in 1626. This convent was located east of Nantes, between faubourg St Climent and Richebourg near cours St Pierre. Lemeignen was also tasked with ensuring the garden's maintenance.
The botanical garden later had to move again after the creation of the lycee de Nantes by decree on 1 Vendemiaire year XII, or 24 September 1803. The old Ursuline convent was selected to house the new school. On 26 February 1806, prefect Belleville issued a decree defining the botanical garden boundaries next to the Ursulines convent. Architect Felix Francois Ogee was assigned to design the garden layout, and pharmacist and botanist Jean Alexandre Hectot was appointed director of the new botanical garden. The oldest tree in the botanical garden is currently the oldest specimen there.
Administrative Changes in the Nineteenth Century
In 1819, Hectot left the direction of the botanical garden after strenuous efforts and financial difficulties. The garden was described as being in a deplorable state because of insufficient employee supervision. In October 1822, Antoine Noisette accepted responsibility for the garden work. He was given a comfortable salary, lodging, and the right to sell surplus plants for profit. Under his direction, commercial activity increased, but this also created a risk that interesting species would be replaced by more profitable plantations. His commercial practices also worsened relations between the garden director and the municipality.
In 1833, a commission was appointed to address the conflicts between Noisette and the municipal authorities. After provisional solutions failed, the city decided not to renew his directorship. In June 1835, a commission sent a report to mayor Ferdinand Favre, leading to a complete review of the garden administration. Antoine Noisette left the post of director in September 1835, and he obtained the appointment of his son Dominique as head gardener. On May 30, 1836, Historia was appointed to guarantee the chair of botany created by the government commission on June 5, 1835.
Plant Collection and Early Development
When Historia began his duties, he was a 26-year-old physician who had taken botany courses at the University of Rennes and had collected plants with Augustin Pyrame de Candolle. He found a garden reduced to a single square containing between 400 and 900 common, unclassified plants. He then resumed adaptation work and considerably enriched the collections. The garden drew plants from local nurserymen and from contributions sent by navigators. A particularly important supplier was Mathurin Jean Armange, a merchant marine captain with a strong interest in botany and horticulture. He sailed mainly to Martinica, La Reunion, and India, and regularly sent rich collections to Historia's garden. Between 1841 and 1863, he reported thousands of seeds and perennial plants in Nantes, and these supplies also went to the Garden of Plants, the Nantes Horticultural Society, and the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.
Expansion and Shaping of the Garden
The Jardin des plantes de Nantes was significantly transformed during the 19th century through successive works of expansion and landscaping. In 1844, Historia obtained credits to build a hot greenhouse for the conservation of exotic plants, but the structure barely met the space needs. Two years later, in 1846, Historia began creating a mound called la montagne, a project that took several years to complete.
The garden's middle part opened to the public in March 1854, and its definitive form was closely tied to the arrival of the railway in Nantes. The Richebourg neighborhood was reorganized with the inauguration of the station in 1853 and the creation of Stalingrad boulevard. An imperial decree dated January 31, 1854, extended the garden southward by 16,000 square meters. Because of complex parceling and appeals from residents, the land acquisition for this extension was only completed in 1858.
Historia continued to improve the site in 1856 by adding a waterfall on the western slope of the mountain and installing a fountain mechanism that is still functioning. In 1858, he opposed Driollet's wish to adapt the garden to a French garden style. After consultation with experts including Jean-Pierre Barillet-Deschamps, the city supported Historia's project, and the government commission officially adopted it on November 12, 1858. Historia finished the final works in 1859, including gates, the excavation of the large basin, and enclosures. He then inaugurated the upper part of the garden with 10,000 visitors on October 7, 1860, before opening the entire garden to the public on April 9, 1865.
After these adaptation works, Historia devoted himself to enriching the collections and giving botany courses. He also presented a relief map of the garden at the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1878. His sudden death in 1882 ended more than forty years of directorship, and the restoration work remained unfinished. During the financial difficulties that followed, Rochais, the chief gardener, tried to manage the garden on a daily basis.
Paul Marmy's Reorganization of the Garden
Paul Marmy was officially hired as Inspector of Walks and Director of the Garden of Plants on April 28, 1893. In this role, he undertook a revision of the floral decoration, the cleaning of plants, and the rehabilitation of the greenhouses. He also established an internal regulation for the garden. Another major part of his work was the reorganization of the botanical collections according to Lord's classification. Marmy also resumed contacts with foreign botanical gardens, linking the site more closely with wider botanical exchange.
The Palm Greenhouse Project
Historia's most notable contribution was the construction of the palm greenhouse. The project had been desired for many years by Historia's predecessors, who had not been able to persuade the mayors to allocate the necessary funds. In the end, Historia constructed a large heated greenhouse intended for the development of exotic plants. This made the palm greenhouse a significant addition to the Jardin des plantes de Nantes.
Landscape Features and Collections
Jardin des plantes de Nantes covers an area of 73,280 square meters and combines landscaped garden areas with waterfalls and water zones. Its layout also includes wooden sculptures and La Montagne, an artificial mound formed from excavation debris removed during the creation of the lake. The garden contains about 11,000 species of trees and flowers, reflecting a large and varied plant collection.
The site also includes 800 square meters of greenhouses used for species from humid equatorial and desert tropical climates. Among its notable botanical features is the Magnolia de Hectot, planted in 1807 and identified as the oldest tree in the garden. The property further includes an orangerie used to house potted plants during winter, as well as cactus greenhouses located in formerly rehabilitated greenhouses.
Teaching and Seed Distribution
Jardin des plantes de Nantes has long been associated with public teaching and seed exchange. Free public courses were offered as early as 1728, and botany teaching in Nantes was established by Ecorchard after the citys decision in 1836. Following Ecorchards death, these botany courses were converted into horticulture courses. Courses resumed in 1893 with a stronger emphasis on professional training, and public botany courses were revived again in 1998.
The garden also maintains a seed list proposed by JdPN to correspondents since 1845, although this activity was interrupted at times by war. Each year, it distributes between 7,000 and 8,000 seed packets worldwide. In addition, it keeps a collection of local non-viable seeds as reference material for determinations.
The courses are planned as a two-year program including lectures, practical work, and field trips. The ninth course promotion began in October 2007.