A garden by nature
On July 1, the University of Montpellier celebrated three events in one, with a special day at the Jardin des Plantes entitled "From plants to fragrances, art and science". On the program: tours, workshops and an exhibition to present the Eau De Belleval perfume, the inauguration of the Orangerie and its surroundings, and the official launch of the endowment fund for the renovation of the Intendance building. Here's a look back.
Atelier Litternature
Philippe Augé and Prefect Jacques Witkowzki attend a naturalist and literary workshop with pupils from the CM1 class at the Pouzols school. Led and designed by Fabio Perruchet, Elisabeth Holtzer and Lou Oms from the scientific culture department, the workshop involved observing fragrant plants with a magnifying glass, in a herbarium and in books. A way of raising awareness of the diversity of flowering plants and their classification.
Perfume creation workshop
Under the watchful eye of Isabelle Parrot, vice-president in charge of scientific culture, pupils from the Pouzols school were introduced to the world of perfume thanks to a second workshop led by a junior perfumer. The little apprentices discovered how to describe and assemble fragrant ingredients, before leaving with their own perfumed creation.
Distillation workshop
CM1 pupils from Alain Savary school in Montpellier were introduced to the subtle art of distillation. The aim: to understand how to produce an essential oil from a vegetable raw material. Here, rosemary or Salvia rosmarinus, the star ingredient of Eau de Belleval.
Exhibition in the Orangery
For its inauguration, the Orangerie was decked out in strange leaves... those of the silkscreen works of artist Caroline Muheim (on the right in the photo), who presented Les hautes herbes and Inventaires des urgences, two series produced during her residencies at the UM.
Emergency inventory
Produced in 2019 and 2021, using vegetable-based inks, Tall Grass and Emergency Inventory were inspired by the edible and medicinal plants growing on campus. Borage, tin laurel, plantin, fennel or wild leek, these plants were also inventoried in collaboration with the Art and Culture department, Professors and students from Serge Muller's botanical illustration workshop.
L'Eau de Belleval
The UM has teamed up with perfumer Arthur Dupuy (left in photo) to create a fragrance inspired by the signature essences of Montpellier's Jardin des Plantes. An echo of the very first eau parfumée in history,Eau de la Reine de Hongrie, marketed by Montpellier under Louis XIV. Named Eau de Belleval, this creation is a tribute to the famous founder of the Montpellier garden. For every fragrance sold, three euros will be donated directly to the Jardin des Plantes endowment fund.
Launch of the Intendance endowment fund
Claude Cazes, President of the Fondation pour le Jardin des Plantes, and Françoise Panthène, President of the Fonds de soutien à la restauration de l'intendance, officially launched the fund-raising campaign at the inauguration of the systematic school and the Orangerie.
Conviviality
On this July 1st, the day after the lifting of sanitary measures, it was with undisguised pleasure that guests were able to share, for the first time in more than a year, a convivial moment around the delicacies of Traiteur Grand.
