Bordeaux - Les Jardins Publics Urban Garden

Ivanova Olga Georgievna, leading specialist of the "Emerald World" company, traveler, photographer

In October 2016, the well-known and respected publisher Lonely Planet released its annual 2017 ranking of the world's best cities to travel. The leader of the list is the French city of Bordeaux. As the French themselves sometimes call it - "Sleeping Beauty", "Little Paris", "Port of the Moon". In this area in the 1st century. BC e. colonization of the lands of Aquitaine began.

Embankment of the Garonne. Exchange Square. Fountain "Mirror of the Garonne"

Sunny and bountiful South of France. Gironde, Henry II, Alienora of Aquitaine, Richard the Lionheart. Vineyards, chateau, chalets, red wine, beetroot and Bordeaux mixture. There are many associations.

The historic city center is on the left bank of the Garonne. 12 km north of the city, the Garonne merges with the Dordogne to form the estuary of the Gironde, the largest in Europe. The banks of the Garonne are connected by several bridges, including the "New Bridge", the oldest in Bordeaux and the longest in France.

Today Bordeaux is the largest city in France by area and, if you count the surrounding area, with a population of almost a million people. There are shops, cafes, restaurants, architectural monuments, museums, theaters, stadiums.

One of the best places to relax and walk in Bordeaux is Les Jardins Publics city garden. It was founded in 1746 at the initiative of the intendant of Tourny (Louis-Urbain Aubert de Tourny), who wanted to keep up with the times and have his own "spa and sanatorium" zone in the city.

The garden was created in the regular "French style" according to the "precepts" of the famous Versailles gardener Le Nôtre. The work was carried out under the direction of Ange-Jacques Gabriel, who had the rank of First Royal Architect. This is the first garden in France for free visiting for all comers, created according to a single master plan. The original area of the garden was 10 hectares.

A little earlier, in 1726, the Botanical Garden was created in Bordeaux - the “pharmaceutical garden”, the need for which had been discussed since 1629. The botanical garden “roamed” for a year, moving almost every 20 years. After another optimization in 1855, it was merged with the Jardins Publics public garden. In 2003, the Botanical Garden moved to the right bank of the Garonne on its own territory. Perhaps in another 20-30 years it will become more attractive for tourists, if it does not move somewhere again.

Due to the “pharmaceutical garden”, the collection of Jardins Publics has been replenished with unique species: coral tree (Erythrina falcata), cassava palmata (Manihot palmata) and some others.

Erythrina falcata

Manihot palmata

Then 150 different types of trees and shrubs were planted, many of which have survived to this day. The tallest tree in the park is the pecan nut (Carya illinoinensis). Its height is 38 m and its diameter is 114 cm in. This pecan was awarded the title of "Wonderful Tree of France" in 2012.

There are many trees in the garden, the age of which has long been over a hundred, or even two hundred years.

Sequoia (Sequoia sempervirens) 140-220 years

Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgo biloba) 130-195 years

Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) 111-170 years old

Pinia (Pinus pinea) 120-180 years old

In 1856, the city council, headed by the mayor Antoine Gaultier, wishing to create a cultural, recreational and educational space, combined with a place for recreation and walking, entrusted the transformation of the garden to LB Fischer. Winding paths were laid between trees, ponds were connected by canals, wonderful bridges were thrown to the islands, and by 1858 the landscape of the park acquired an irregular romantic (English) style.

Bridge to the island with a playground

The path to the administrative building

Part of the park in "English style"

View of the pond from the "children's" island

The statues in the park are from the days of Charles Burguet, the city's architect from 1850 to 1879 and the general contractor for landscaping the garden. In addition to sculptures, he built a "laboratory and administrative building" with a greenhouse, storage of herbarium specimens, and a library. Currently, the staff and security of the park are located there.

Administrative building

Gallery wing of the administrative building

In 1862, a neighboring building, the former Hotel Lisleferme, built by the architect Bonfin in 1781, was added to the Jardins Publics territory to create a natural history museum.

Gallery wing of the administrative building and former hotel Lisleferme

Former Hotel Lisleferme

The garden is fenced with wonderful wrought iron grates.

Jardins Publics Garden Fence

Jardins Publics Fence Gate

The buildings outside the garden, although historical, are quite residential.

View of residential buildings from Jardins Publics

All of these - plants, statues, trellises, ponds, paths - are included in the list of "outstanding gardens of France" and are protected by law.

Jardins Publics Park is great at any time of the year.

Winter landscapes are romantic.

Spring is adorable.

Summer is beautiful.

Autumn - a little sad, but life-affirming.

In addition to the arboretum, plant exhibitions and an irregularly operating museum of natural history, the park houses: a puppet theater, swings, playgrounds, historical carousels, and a free free book exchange.

Historical carousel

Playground

On lawns you can only walk, but also lie.

Book exchanger

Feeding fish and birds is encouraged.

Birds are moderately afraid of people and live their lives rather calmly.

Kindergarten on a walk

In winter, bird care is especially needed

Cormorant

Gray heron

Since March 2011, by scanning QR codes, visitors to the garden can receive information about the garden on their mobile and even listen to birdsong. If the phone has a camera, of course, and you know French well. Jardins Publics is ideal for leisurely walks, jogging, relaxing on benches or on the grass, walking lovers, artists, photographers, children of different ages.

Compositions of trees, along with other diverse garden plants, ponds, paths, thickets and open areas create an incomparable amazing atmosphere of light mystery, surprise and joy from direct communication with wildlife. A magical, wonderful instant movement from the world of architecture to the world of nature.

Fountain near the Museum of Nature

You will learn about the collections of living plants of ornamental, medicinal, economically valuable, rare garden Jardins Publics in the next article.

Photo: Ivanova Olga Georgievna