Discovery of the Arboretum of Hort de Dieu

Jewel of the Aigoual, L'Hort-de-Dieu means "God's garden" and, since the Renaissance, this place is prized by botanists who come to herborize rare species, adapted to the environmental environment of the Aigoual. From the middle of the 19th century, it became a place of experimentation to study the adaptation of species to the environmental conditions of the Aigoual.

In 1902, as part of a reforestation program of the Aigoual, Georges Fabres, general guard of water and forests of the Gard and Charles Flahault, professor at the faculty of Montpellier, created the arboretum of the Hort de Dieu.

Thus, 773 trees and more than 1200 plants were planted at the Hort-de-Dieu. Charles Flahault had a sheepfold restored as a laboratory for scholars and students of botany and forestry. He created an alpine garden and a high-altitude vegetable garden to study the development conditions of these plants. More exotic trees such as the Numidian fir, the Canadian cedar, or the giant Sequoia are to be discovered during this walk.

Bring a picnic, water, good shoes and binoculars.

Magnifying glasses and tree identification documents are provided.