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| The Sign at the Gardens |
Rather than run home and get soaked, I ducked into the greenhouses at the botanical gardens. I've been through the Park before, but I've not been in the greenhouses until today. It was actually very nice. I was the only one in there (other than the gardeners) and so it was very quiet, and warm as it was full of tropical plants.
The signs at the garden say...
Emmanual Liais (1826 - 1900) was a former mayor of Cherbourg. His hobbies included astronomy and botony, which led to him collecting South American and Asian plants when he went travelling. As these plants probably weren't accustomed to the Cherbourgian weather, he built the Emmanual Liais botanical gardens, which included the greenhouses, an observatory and a lake. No idea where the observatory is, but I've now discovered the greenhouses and
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| The fishpond with the bridge |
The signs also say that the big house in the gardens was his home, and is now a museum filled with stuffed animals and ethnic artifacts that is 'not to be missed'. I'm afraid to say, I missed it! Next time, perhaps...
The sign is right about it being an 'oasis of calm'. It was just what I needed after a very busy and stressful few days! It's just a shame that there aren't benches in there to sit down, as I think I'd happily spend several hours sat amongst exotic flowers and trees.
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| Some
beautiful colours which definitely brightened up a rather gloomy day! |
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Sign on the door to the
Cacti in the greenhouse
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There are lovely little paths that you can walk through in the greenhouses.
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| Exotic colours |
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| The Cacti Room |
The first room wasn't heated, but was about 20°C (according to one of the thermometers hanging from a tree). It had some very nice trees and flowers in it, and a pond for fish, which they had built a bridge over.
It looked like it was just goldfish in the pond, but they were very pretty all the same.
There were some impressive colours in here - pinks, oranges, purples etc. Made a big change to the grey day we had in Cherbourg today!
In the second room, there were lots of types of Cacti. The soil was different, and it must have had a dehumidifier in there as the air was much drier.
There was a big sign on the door as you entered, telling you not to touch the vegetation. Do French people not just know that Cacti are spiky?
There were some very exotic cacti species in there. One or
two were even flowering!
Becky (my sister) would have loved it. There were no signs offering 'Free Hugs' though!!
The third (and I think last) room in the greenhouse was huge. It had a very high ceiling and housed full-sized trees.
This room was heated, I think to between 25-30°C. It was very warm anyway, and a little bit humid.
It reminded me a bit of Jurassic Park with the towering exotic plants. I felt like I was in a proper jungle (but with a nicely laid out stone path so you didn't have to fight your way through).
There were some colours in here, but it was mainly just trees and plants. There were also lots of signs about 'Rare Plants', which talked about how some of the plants couldn't be found in their home countries anymore (probably
because M. Liais brought them all back to France...)
Anyway, a lovely discovery just 10 minutes walk from the centre of Cherbourg. Somewhere I will definitely go and visit again.
It looked like it was just goldfish in the pond, but they were very pretty all the same.
There were some impressive colours in here - pinks, oranges, purples etc. Made a big change to the grey day we had in Cherbourg today!
In the second room, there were lots of types of Cacti. The soil was different, and it must have had a dehumidifier in there as the air was much drier.
There was a big sign on the door as you entered, telling you not to touch the vegetation. Do French people not just know that Cacti are spiky?
There were some very exotic cacti species in there. One or
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| Some wavy and tall cactus plants |
Becky (my sister) would have loved it. There were no signs offering 'Free Hugs' though!!
The third (and I think last) room in the greenhouse was huge. It had a very high ceiling and housed full-sized trees.
This room was heated, I think to between 25-30°C. It was very warm anyway, and a little bit humid.
It reminded me a bit of Jurassic Park with the towering exotic plants. I felt like I was in a proper jungle (but with a nicely laid out stone path so you didn't have to fight your way through).
There were some colours in here, but it was mainly just trees and plants. There were also lots of signs about 'Rare Plants', which talked about how some of the plants couldn't be found in their home countries anymore (probably
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| The Jungle greenhouse |
because M. Liais brought them all back to France...)
Anyway, a lovely discovery just 10 minutes walk from the centre of Cherbourg. Somewhere I will definitely go and visit again.
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| Stone path through the greenhouse |
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