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2010, the 01st of FebruaryDear Orchid Lovers, An event not to be missed in February 2010 "The Greenhouses of the Parisian Senate ». Come numerously! The Orchids of the Luxembourg Garden 150 years of a mythical collection at the Senate, on February 5th to 14th, 2010 
The Luxembourg Gardens is celebrating the 150th anniversary of his national collection of tropical orchids. This great exhibition traces the history of the continuous fabulous plant heritage, fragile and unique, which the Senate is the custodian and guarantor since 1860. The collection started as the botanical garden of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris which, since 1838, was located at the south of the current Luxembourg Gardens. In 1860, the Prefect Haussmann expropriated the Faculty and its botanical garden to open the construction of the Boulevard Saint-Michel. An imperial ordinance annex a portion of land at the Luxembourg Gardens and the Senate agrees to save the orchids and welcome them in the greenhouses of the garden's collection which became one of the richest in Europe. To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the collection in the Senate, the orchids will be presented in the magical atmosphere of the winter Orangerie Garden, that for the first time in this season, will open its doors to the public. Usually this collection is legendary indeed presented only once a year on the occasion of European Heritage Days. Rich of almost 1 300 hybrids and species belonging to more than 150 botanical genus, this collection of orchids will be staged in the heart of an ornamentation made by the orangery plants. Unique in the world, it is the only one that can still present today more than 150 mother plants of hybrid orchids, dating from the late nineteenth century. The public will discover the extraordinary richness and diversity of this botanical family, the extreme beauty of its flowers, its exquisitely scented and sometimes repulsive parfums, the mysteries of the in vitro propagation of these plants and hybridation techniques. The Gardeners of the Senate will be present to answer to your questions and share their secrets of culture. This will be in the middle of our winter a dive in history but also a dive in the beauty of a fabulous collection of plants that was saved in extremis by the Senate 150 years ago and is now providing support to the safeguard of biodiversity. Contact: Conservation des Jardins du Luxembourg 64, bd Saint-Michel 75006 Paris Tel: 01 42 34 23 62 / Fax 01 42 34 35 19 Mail : jardin.du.luxembourg@senat.fr |
