And first, let’s remember what a breeder is: a horticulturist capable of creating, by hybridization, new varieties of plants. Now it turns out that Nancy counted among the inhabitants one of the most prolific of its kind, some even speak of “undisputed master of horticultural hybridization”: Victor Lemoine (1823-1911).
And among the 5,000 or so creations on his account (!), Including begonias, gladioli, clematis, hydrangeas, etc., there are also the fuchsias, of which some 450 cultivars are attributed to him.
But also the lilacs, with 214 cultivars to wear. Today, many of them are still on the market, that is to say the excellence of his work. In addition, all of these varieties of lilac are represented in the open-air museum which is the Jean-Marie-Pelt botanical garden (in Villers-lès-Nancy) among other collections of plants signed by the great breeder.
The legacy of Victor Lemoine is therefore still very much alive in Nancy, who paid tribute to him in the form of a bust enthroned in Parc Sainte-Marie.
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