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In Paris, the European Heritage Days give access to surprising places. On 21 and 22 September, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the Luxembourg Garden will visit its orchid greenhouses, usually closed to the public. Visitors will also discover conservatory orchards.
Between the Latin Quarter and Montparnasse, the Luxembourg Garden surrounds the Senate. Not far from the semicircle, old apple trees and pear trees follow one another on the equivalent of two football fields, or 2,200 square kilometers. Conservatory orchards preserve an important plant diversity, inherited from the 17th century. Franck Delaleix, manager of conservatory orchards, knows each tree and its secrets. " At the time, producers of pear liquor WIlliams put the bottle directly on the pear, and then the fruit sprouted into the bottle ." The man, accompanied by his team, takes care of the 230 varieties of pears and 330 varieties of apples.
To be able to identify the trees and trace their genealogy, the gardener can rely on vintage catalogs, edited and drawn. Become obsolete with the arrival of genetic analysis, science has come to supplement and enrich the pre-existing data. " We are working in collaboration with INRA, the national institute for agronomic research . They help us establish genetic relationships between trees. "
To perpetuate the heritage
On September 21st and 22nd, come and discover the greenhouses of the #JardinDuLuxembourg, specially opened for the occasion, and its hundreds of species of orchids! 🌷🌿 # JEP2019 # Heritage Days @JEP https://t.co/UhwP223NXA
Luxembourg Gardens (@JardinLuco) September 6, 2019The fruit trees have a fairly long life, about a hundred years. The grafts carried out in the Luxembourg garden make it possible to keep track of this plant heritage. " It is important to preserve this diversity, we forget too often that there are other varieties than what we can offer supermarkets, " says the gardener.
The leaves of the trees have bleached under the effect of pure clay, an alternative to phytosanitary products. Here, no synthetic molecules, but recipes of grandmothers to maintain the plants. Decoctions of horsetail and nettle are sprayed on the plants, garlic and its sulfuric decoction make the insects flee. " Nature is doing very well alone, there is little treatment or work of the land ." Rare human intervention, the fruits are swaddled in white bags to avoid losing the whole crop by leaving green parakeets nibble.
The harvested fruits are then sorted. Some are not edible raw and must mature before being consumed. Part is consumed typed, that is to say withered. Once ready, they join other collections or are donated to Restos du coeur du 6e arrondissement.
Rare flowers
A few hundred meters further, in a remote place, four greenhouses succeed one another. In one of them, a collection of particular flowers is preserved. Feet in the water, Tuesday, day of watering obliges, Baptiste Étienne wanders through the sodden orchids. Responsible for the collection of orchids, he ensures the proper maintenance of these plants. Located in a remote corner of the general public, in the Luxembourg Garden, the 628 species benefit from the care of a dozen gardeners. Often odorless, some yet have distinctive scents, vanilla or clove odors.
To preserve these old varieties, more than a hundred years old, the multiplications are done thanks to the crossings. Baptiste Étienne counts today 745 hybrids. The names attributed to them often refer to deans of faculties. In 1911, Mabel Sanders gave his name to a cross.
He is passionate about botany, Achille Ricard, director of the Faculty of Pharmacy, who began his collection of orchids in 1800. Very quickly, he links privileged relationships with explorers and navigators, who bring back plants from all over the world. The particular flowers with animal shapes intrigue him. No medicinal virtue is attributed to them, but the director's collection grows gradually. At the time, rare and precious, synonymous with exoticism, plants arouse curiosity. His collection takes a new boost, thanks to a young Brazilian student visiting Paris. Once back in Brazil, he offers to send him regular plants.
In 1860, it is in panic that orchids are relocated to the Luxembourg garden. Achille Ricard sees his greenhouse hit alignment. The major construction sites in Paris begin with the Haussmann works and the French capital takes on the appearance we know today. The four luminous greenhouses of the Luxembourg Garden were built to welcome them. Later, Asian orchids came to complete the collection, as the cymbidiums, less fragile.
An ecosystem at risk
Native to French Guiana, Central America or the foothills of the Himalayas, orchids grow all over the world. Intelligent plants, they use their roots to cling to a tree or a rock in height, so as to capture the light and create their photosynthesis. With the exception of poles and deserts, they flourish everywhere. " Orchids have had the ability to adapt to all environments, contrary to popular beliefs, which think they are fragile, " says Baptiste Etienne. " That said, they can take four to five years to give their first flower, you have to be patient, " he laughs. To best reproduce their natural condition, orchids are grown in substrates consisting of pine bark and soil or in moss soaked in water.
" The work with the living is delicate, we sometimes lose species. So our main goal is the preservation of species . For this, a whole network is set up. Cultivated plants can be sent to collectors or sanctuaries. The use of phytosanitary products has not been used for ten years, which helps to have healthy plants, but sometimes damaged by insects. " This biological fight is the healthiest solution we've found ."
" This plant comes from Comoros, says the gardener pointing a white orchid with long spur. The peasants burn on the land where they grow. The problem is the impact on the ecosystem, since it feeds the sphinx butterfly , "he laments in a bitter tone. In the greenhouses of the Luxembourg Garden, an almost sanctuary space, they are protected from fires and deforestation. A vegetable treasure that gardeners watch.