Jardin botanique "Les Cèdres"

The Jardin botanique "Les Cèdres" (14 hectares), often called simply Les Cèdres or the Jardin de la villa "Les Cèdres", is a private botanical garden located at 57 Avenue Denis Semeria, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France.

The garden was established in 1924 on the grounds of the villa "Les Cèdres", constructed in 1830 in the Sardinian style and once the property of King Leopold II of Belgium. In 1924 the property was purchased by Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle, founder of the society of Grand Marnier. In 1928 his son Julien intensified the cultivation of exotic plants. Since 1976 the garden has been owned by the Société des Produits Marnier-Lapostolle.

Today the garden contains more than 14,000 species of tropical plants, with the most tender kept in 25 heated greenhouses. It is said to be one of the largest collections of tropical plants in Europe, and includes a palm grove, a collection of bamboos, and an equatorial forest grove. The collections include "Euphorbia coerulescens", "Myrtillocactus geometrizans", and specimens of Aizoaceae, Aloe, Araceae, Amaryllidaceae, Bromeliaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Cactaceae, Calymmanthium, Crassulaceae, Liliaceae, and Palmae.

See also

* List of botanical gardens in France

References

* [http://www.bgci.org/garden.php?id=56&ftrCountry=FR&ftrKeyword=&ftrBGCImem=&ftrIAReg= BGCI entry]
* [http://www.cactus-succulents.com/Marnier%20Lapostolle%20cacti%20collection.html Cactus Succulents description]
* [http://www.worldreviewer.com/experiences/garden/les-cedres/57397/ World Reviewer description]
* Jean-Pierre Demoly, "Les Cèdres": An Exceptional Botanical Garden", Paris : Éditions Franklin Picard, 304 p., 1999. ISBN 2913863035.
* French Wikipedia entry