It's spring and the weather is mild, the vegetation is waking up and making a date with us! 😉 As you may have noticed from reading this blog, I love nature, its beauty, photographing it but also learning about it. We know so little about Mother Nature . In this article, I invite you to visit the Exotic and Botanical Garden of Roscoff.
Presentation of the exotic and botanical garden
The southern hemisphere in North Finistère
That's what the garden looks like and I think it's a brilliant idea! This slogan is excellent 😅 ! That pretty much sums up the theme of the garden, with its 3,500 subtropical botanical species spread over almost 16,000 m2 (designed by Alain Le Goff).
But don't worry, it looks gigantic but it's easy to do. Nothing athletic, but a good 2-hour walk minimum in my opinion. Much more, if you take the time to read the information on the species, and if, like me, you take photos.
This garden is currently one of the largest collections of southern species grown in our climateFrom South Africa, Oceania, South America, the Canary Islands, Madeira and Central America. Hence my motivation to share my experience of this discovery in French Brittany.
Hibiscus Lantern
Agapanthus Umbellatus
Amaryllis Belladona
Discovering the garden
When you walk through the garden, don't expect to find lines of plants organised by category or origin. Instead, you'll find a natural landscape (in miniature), with regular additions and an arrangement for the pleasure of the eyes after having met the essential needs of each species of course (soil, exposure, humidity, etc.).
Most of the tour takes place in the open air, but you will also pass through a cold greenhouse where you will find cacti, bulbs and succulents in the ground or in rock gardens.
There's a lot of fun to be had here! Between the cacti that have sprung from the wildest imaginations, succulents, these intriguingly hairy, prickly plants with strange shapes, are fascinating. What's more, for garden lovers, they're easy to grow. Well, I confess I haven't tried 🤓 !
Garden design
Now you may be asking yourself the question, but how do these plants from the south stand up to our North Finistère? ?
The question obviously arose for the garden's founders, Louis Kerdilès and Daniel Person. In fact, the garden is right on the route of the Gulf Stream, which creates a truly mild microclimate. The temperature very rarely drops below 0°C. (max -5°c according to information from the exotic garden) This is also the case on the Norwegian coast.
There is also a large rock, the Roc'h Hievec. on the east side, which not only provides protection from easterly winds but also stores heat during the day and releases it at night. You learn a lot of interesting things, and not just about botany! It's all about balance in nature!
The exception is this slightly athletic route (unlike the garden route), where you will have to climb 78 steps to reach the top of Roc'h Hievec and enjoy the panoramic view of the Bay of Morlaix.
In fact, this rock is of vital importance for the balance of the plants and the garden, as it helps to generate climatic zones similar to the countries of origin of the species.
A fascinating garden, don't you think? It teaches us a lot about Mother Nature! I hope I've sparked your interest for a little visit when you're on the north coast of Brittany, so don't hesitate to share your experience in the comments below.
However, you should be aware that the exotic and botanical garden is only open from 1 March to 6 Novemberwith extended summer opening times. Visit their website to find out more. If you like gardens of this kind, there's another one just like it in the Vosges". The haut Chitelet high-altitude garden "about mountain species, on which I also wrote an article.
Well photographed,
David
