Click here for more photos of the Jardin des plantes de Montpellier.
Montpellier became an important center for botany in the 16th century. Botany was taught by the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Montpellier. At that time & long before it, most medicine came directly from plants & doctors needed extensive knowledge of medicinal botany. The Royal Garden of Montpellier was created in 1593. It was ruined during the bombardment of Montpellier in 1622, then restored in 1629. It was opened to the public at end of the 18th century. The Jardin des plantes de Montpellier is the oldest botanical garden in France. It has remained university property since its creation.
The garden had significant development during the 19th century. The orangery was completed in 1804, the arboretum in 1810, the English Garden in 1859 & the greenhouse in 1860. The garden was named a protected nature preserve in 1982 & a national monument in 1992. The garden contains more than 2,500 plant species, including 500 native to the Mediterranean region. About 2,000 are grown outdoors & 1,000 under glass. The main collections include medicinal plants, the family Cistaceae (rockrose), arboretum trees, plus tropical & temperate plants in the greenhouse.
To be honest, I wasn't very impressed with the Jardin des plantes. But I have seen many arboreta & botanical gardens, some of them excellent. The Jardin des plantes was interesting enough. I was pleased to see a collection of plants from the western United States. The garden is certainly worth a visit when you are in Montpellier. When I was there in March 2017, it wasn’t very well-maintained & many of the plants were still dormant. I’m sure it’s better in May. There were a number of gardeners working to clean it up.
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