Jules Gravereaux

Jules Gravereaux (1844-1916) was a French rosarian. The son of a nursery operator, he became an executive at Le Bon Marché and in 1892 purchased land at the village of L'Haÿ about 8km south of Paris. There, he built the first ever complete garden devoted exclusively to roses. It became so popular that a few years later the village changed its name to L'Haÿ-les-Roses.

In 1900, Jules Gravereaux was hired by Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier, the Commissioner of Gardens for the city of Paris, to help create the rose gardens at Château de Bagatelle. In 1909, Gravereaux recreated the rose collection of Joséphine de Beauharnais at her Château de Malmaison.

Links

* [http://www.roseraieduvaldemarne.fr Roseraie du Val-de-Marne (France)]
* [http://www.archives94.fr/pages/rose5.htm Archives départementales du Val-de-Marne - Fonds du Musée de la Rose]