The Exotic Botanical Garden Centre has a new location: with a breathtaking view of the Principality and the Mediterranean. The 10,500 succulent plants which make up the Exotic Garden have arrived safely: ten people have been working on this unusual move since January. The greenhouses will be completed by the end of July.
“Moving a botanical garden centre, in the history of the gardens, is a first. So we needed to invent everything. It was passionate work, with the principal objective of saving a maximum amount of plants, and losing as few as possible, which we succeeded in doing. We are very happy about that. Now that the plants have been re-planted, we have the role of maintaining them, waiting for the root systems, that suffer during a move, to re-establish themselves until the plants can hold themselves up. We’ll leave the support structures for a little bit, it doesn’t look very pretty now, but within a year we’ll remove the supports little by little,” said Pierre-Louis Grange, technical assistant.
Three floors to accommodate the different cacti and other succulent plants. One of the Botanical centre’s objectives is to ensure the protection and the conservation of rare vegetation; with a space larger than 2,000 sq. m, with a 13 m high ceiling. The plants were re-arranged in their new space by theme.
“The re-arrangement of the vegetation is being done in good conditions in this greenhouse, you can judge it for yourselves, it’s a magnificent and very large greenhouse. To open this greenhouse to the public is an interesting feat for the Exotic Garden. It’s a new way of showing the different facets of the garden and its different functions,” said Jean-Marie Solichon, Director of the Exotic Garden.
The greenhouses will henceforth be open to the public and accessible to all. A promenade has been created connecting the intermediary level to the future parking lot.
“The total structure is connected by a public path, open during the days. Visitors will have the opportunity to see the plants through the glass, or directly as some of the structures are sheltered,” said Jean-Marie Solichon.
Guided visits of the Exotic Garden greenhouses will be available in September 2018.
