Regional Plants

 

Explore the Marne’s great diversity in plants and vegetation

Our remarkable plants

The biodiversity of the natural environments is very rich in the Champagne region. More than 4,000 species have been identified throughout the region in all the natural areas of interest for their ecology, flora, and fauna.

The forests, parks, and gardens also shelter varieties specific to the Marne.  

The famous “Faux de Verzy” in the heart of the Montagne de Reims are neighbours to the “Marne Rose” or even the “Champagne Orchids”...

Iris de Bouzy

THE BOUZY IRISES

If Bouzy in Champagne is well-known for its red wine, it is also known for its “Bouzy-Bouzy” iris. A wine-coloured iris. Irises have been grown for decades in this Champagne region village between Reims et Épernay. In fact, the limestone and filtering earth of Bouzy suits the iris very well because it is a plant that hates clingy, tight-packed soil; it doesn’t need a lot of water or fertiliser.


Irises particularly enjoy exposure to the sun, and they are ideal plants to have running along a very warm wall.
From May onwards, they bloom in their hundreds at Bouzy!

The "Marne" rose

In 1915, the “Marne” rose was created by the rose breeder from Orleans, Barbier. This rose was a tribute to the victorious French soldiers from the 6 September 1914 at the First Battle of the Marne.

Its brilliant dark green leaves, disease-resistant, and its semi-doubling remontant rose flowering supported with a white centre are a reflection of the explosives.

Time diminished its qualities bit by bit and this rose ended up disappearing from the nurseries. In 1995, Edith Brochet Lanvin, a nursery gardener at Nanteuil la Forêt and a specialist in ancient roses, admired this rose bush in a book, photographed in a California cemetery. After some research, she managed to find it in the Haye les Roses rose garden and took a successful graft that adapted to the soil in the Marne.

It has since become the symbol of the department of the Marne which, since 1997 has held the title of “Trophée National du Département Fleuri” (National Award for a Department in Bloom).

Orchidée de Champagne

CHAMPAGNE ORCHIDS

Very rich in orchids, Champagne-Ardenne boasts around fifty species for curious walkers to see, from wetland monorchis to the burnt-tip orchid of the calcareous grasslands.

Orchids generally live in sparse, dry, and chalky terrain. But they can also be found in humid and acidic terrain. In our region, they mainly flourish from April to June.

The office of the Montagne de Reims Regional Natural Park offers guided tours to see this fragile and delicate plant in its natural environment.

Peony

The "Victoire de la Marne” peony was created at the time of the Great War in homage to the battles of 1914.

It is a quite round double peony, with a clear, rustic, and robust raspberry red colour that flowers more and more spectacularly over the years.

It can be seen at the Presle Botanical Garden.

ANCIENT FRUIT TREES

70 ancient varieties of fruit tree from the Argonne, once renowned for its cider, are on display at Noirlieu in the GAEC Defontaine tree nurseries. “Pomme d’api, chrétien rouge, court pendu, pépin sonnant” (api apple, red Christian, short hang, sounding seed): the ancients had a lot of fun naming new varieties. The taste for authenticity comes from the diversity and the entire nursery team derives enormous personal satisfaction from it.

It is also a renowned fruit-growing conservatory recognised by the Marne Departmental Board.
 

SPIRAEA MAGNUM ROSE

A unique specimen born of the Spiraea Magnum Rose, derived from a Spiraea japonica, normally smaller than 1 m in height. This giant reaches new heights of elegance: 2.30 metres

THE "MARNE” HYDRANGEA

A variety from the Belle Epoque, created by E. Moulière in 1917 in homage to the soldiers of the Great War.

This variety of Hydrangea with thick and robust stems carries enormous toothed flower bulbs that are made up of refined and rare half-tones from rose-mauve to blue depending on the nature of the soil. 

It can be seen at the Presle Botanical Garden

Selection of gateways

Continue the discovery around trees, plants and gardens...