Les jardins suspendus - Le Havre botanical garden

[kerouac2]

Le Havre has had a botanical garden since only very recently.  It bought the fort of Sainte-Adresse on top of the city in 2000, began the conversion to a botanical garden in 2005 and opened it to the public in 2008.

I had a map and decided to get up there from the beach, so we must begin by giving King Albert 1er of Belgium his due.

Why is he here?  King Albert bravely remained in Belgium during the Great War, but the Belgian government relocated to Sainte-Adresse from 1914 to 1918.  The French government accorded extra-territorial status to Sainte-Adresse for the entire duration of the war, so it became the administrative capital of Belgium.  30,000 Belgians settled there during the war.  July 21st, the Belgian national day, is still celebrated in Sainte Adresse every year, and the Belgian flag is flown.

My map was pretty sketchy, but I knew that I had to keep climbing until there was nowhere to climb.

Luckily, there were some signs to show the way from time to time.

[kerouac2]

This was clearly not the principal route to the gardens, but I appreciated how peaceful it was.



I glanced down in the direction of the shoreline.





This is not the poor part of town.





Does this little lane exist only for going to the gardens? Apparently so.





Alongside the road was very gentle wilderness with lots of birdsong.



I could see the ocean from time to time. I was well above sea level now.



This little road was starting to seem endless. And it kept going up and up.

[bixaorellana]

I'm excited to see more, although the getting there is wonderful in itself.

[kerouac2]

At last the terrain flattened out, and this hedgerow seemed to indicate that I was almost there.





And so here is an entrance, used so infrequently that there is not even a path beaten through the grass!



The hanging gardens await me.



There was a little map to show the layout. Another old Vauban fort, of course.



I was entering through the rose garden, but obviously rose season has passed, so I did the same.

           

[kerouac2]

more paths to follow



But how to get inside the fort? It was protected by ferocious beasts.





I finally found the path to the entrance tunnel.





And I was inside.





I began to peer at everything and anything.









There was even a lift. Okay, not in service today...



But the toilets were working. Not really a botanical element but very important for a lot of visitors.



This was a promising direction.

[kerouac2]

A ramp took me up to this garden.













I was able to glance down at the city below.







I also had a view of the greenhouses in the centre of the fort.





I like to look at all of the botanical signs, but most of them mean nothing to me.



This plant was probably tipped over by the rain and is awaiting assistance.

[bixaorellana]

This is excellent, Kerouac. You really have an eye for the subtle beauty of plants and it's lovely to be shown this garden in the post-showy flower stage. The lavenders going to seed are every bit as pretty as when they're doing their color thing. And the grasses! Your pictures really showcase how exceptional they can be as landscape plants. I see that you were seduced by the sunlight glinting on cactus spines as well.

Looking forward to more!

[kerouac2]

I loved these impressive thistles.





They certainly know to keep the little critters away.





And here is their identification.



Do we want to be green? Do we want to be yellow? Let's be both!







I was fascinated by how the leaves of this plant bend around to make a circle. But why?

[kerouac2]

continuing to try to fill the cracks of my immense botanical ignorance...





I was approaching the front side of the gardens and could see the ocean again.



excellent area for picnics and relaxing



I'll admit that I settled for a while into the bench in the shade because all of my climbing had me sweating like a pig.



Far in the distance, people were frolicking on the water.



The hothouses were open now for a fee of 2 euros, but I did not need to see orchids and ferns as I dripped with sweat. But I'm sure there was plenty more to see.



The rapid exit route did not appeal to me either.



I entered the austral zone with lots of eucalyptus.







This bird was busy building a nest.

[tod2]

Kerouac, you've been having a grand old time haven't you! What a wonderful garden. I'm sure there are Anyporters who appreciate all the trouble you went to with photographing not only the plants but their names too.
The "Bird" making a nest looks almost like a rare Green Pigeon to me.

[htmb]

I’m enjoying this visit very much. It’s good your park bench was situated so you didn’t have those awful tanks blocking your view.

[kerouac2]

The little plants were often just as interesting as the trees.

[kerouac2]

Just a few more photos before it's time to go...



The holly is already getting ready for Christmas.





And I exited the fort through the main entrance.



This is what I would have seen had I entered the front of the gardens.



There was so much more to see, but it will have to wait. I'll even visit the greenhouses next time if I have 2 euros.



It was so nice to return back to the city all downhill.

[htmb]

Looks like you had a nice stroll, Kerouac, and got a bit of a workout while also enjoying the end-of-summer gardens.

[fumobici]

Thanks so much for taking photos of the plant tags, this is very useful for us plant anoraks.

[onlyMark]

I'm going to ask a stupid question here - the name translates to 'hanging gardens'?
What's the hanging bit then?

[kerouac2]

Frankly, nothing was hanging other than peoples' eyes over the balustrades to see the city and the ocean below.

I'm not sure if the ones in Babylon hung much more.

[lugg]

This is great, thank you and yes I too appreciated the tags especially of the one that identified that lovely tree with the round leaves.

Quite a hike to get there but I guess there may be some public transport to the main entrance ? I would not mind the climb up but the thought of coming down horrifies me.

[bixaorellana]

This was lovely and its obvious how much you got into it. Thanks for taking us along!