Observing an aerial view of Nancy would give a precise idea of the importance of the parks and their plant impact throughout the agglomeration. The ducal city has a plant ratio, on average higher than that of many other cities in France, camped around 320 hectares of natural space, for a total of 25 parks and gardens. “Their presence is part of the long term”, comments Laurent Watrin. “We find the traces and the signature of the city of Stanislas in the 18th century, it is the whole question of urban biodiversity that is raised”, estimates the ecologist deputy to the mayor of Nancy.
In the extended panel of the list of parks in the agglomeration, the unmissable and majestic Pépinière proves to be the undisputed leader of Nancy’s plant development. However, in its wake, original and interesting sites deserve to be more specifically highlighted. Like the Dominique-Alexandre-Godron garden, located a few dozen meters from Place Stanislas. This is the first botanical garden in Nancy, with a vocation extended until 1993.
Then, the collections were moved to a larger site at the Montent botanical garden, on the outskirts of the Nancy conurbation. Godron, a famous botanist, was its director in the second half of the 19th century. The garden is now a laboratory of plants and techniques adapted to climate change. “In 2022, despite the heat waves, the massifs were only watered there twice”, says one at the Town Hall of Nancy.
Four remarkable trees
The garden of the Ecole de Nancy museum and the square Jules-Dorget are part of the Ecole de Nancy movement which gave birth to art nouveau. The first, listed in the inventory of Historic Monuments, includes tree species and plant specimens, as well as plants from collections from the great Nancy horticulturists Victor Lemoine, François Félix Crousse and Léon Simon.
The Square Dorget with a surface area of 3,500 square meters was also designed with a view to sustainable development. The water from the roof of a neighboring building is collected in an underground reserve and meets the needs of the square. The other roofs of the buildings are vegetated.
Labeled as “Tourism and Handicap”, the Paul-Verlaine garden offers a succession of atmospheres and plant architectures that lead the visitor from Avenue de Boufflers to Avenue Anatole-France.
Nancy has four “remarkable” trees among the 700 listed in France: the two plane trees in the park of the Governor’s Palace, the purple beech in the nursery, all the trees in the Godron garden and the magnolia in the Parc Sainte-Marie.
#today #multiple #identities #Nancys #parks #gardens
