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The Société d'Horticulture de Paris (Paris Horticultural Society) was born on 11 th June 1827, at the instigation of Viscount Héricart de Thury. It became the Société Royale d'Horticulture (Royal Horticultural Society) in 1835. To start with it was a club for enthusiasts who wished to talk about their experiences or new cultivation techniques or to devote themselves to the acclimatisation of exotic species.
A second society was formed in 1841, essentially made up of practitioners, and this soon became the Société Nationale d'Horticulture de la Seine (National Horticultural Society of the Seine). Chaired by the Duke de Morny, the two societies merged in 1854 and took the name of the Société Impériale Centrale d'Horticulture (Central Imperial Horticultural Society) which moved to 84 rue de Grenelle in 1860 and became the Société Nationale d'Horticulture de France in 1885.
Over a period of more than a century and a half, our Society was chaired by well-respected names from the world of horticulture, and also by leading public figures.
Restoring its links with the horticultural world, the SNHF has been chaired by Henri Delbard since April 2003.
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Héricart de Thury
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Henri Delbard
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Its vocation is to promote horticulture, to provide a link between amateurs and professionals, to take part in initiatives designed to develop knowledge, to protect our plant heritage and to make the most of the art of gardening. In order to go about this work in a more efficient, more modern way, our society has recently reformed its statutes: private individuals, associations and professionals are all now represented on its board and can play a part in deciding on the direction to be taken and in the management of the SNHF.
The entrance to 84 rue de Grenelle |
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The first names of the SNHF
A little over 150 years ago, on 1 st December 1854, the Société Impériale d'Horticulture de Paris merged by mutual agreement with the Société Nationale d'Horticulture de la Seine and the new society thus formed took the name of the Société Impériale and Centrale d'Horticulture. It would only become the Société Impériale and Centrale d'Horticulture de France twelve years later (then the Société Nationale et Centrale d'Horticulture de France in 1880 and finally the Société Nationale d'Horticulture de France in 1885.
The chairmen of the SNHF
The SNHF was founded almost 180 ago on the initiative of Viscount Héricart de Thury. It is an association under the 1901 law and has received public utility approval. The 218 founder members included: 12 members of the Institut, 10 nurserymen including Philippe-André de Vilmorin, 6 Royal Gardeners, 4 Conservateurs des Eaux et Forêts (responsible for the country's water and forest resources), 3 chemists, 3 peers of France including Baron Séguier, 4 members of Parliament including General De La Fayette, 7 members of the prefectoral corps and the famous flower painter Pierre Joseph Redouté. Héricart de Thury was the first of the well-respected chairmen in which the SNHF takes such great pride (from 1827 to 1852).
The premises
In 1860 the Société Nationale d'Horticulture de France left the Rue Taranne in Paris where it had had its headquarters up until that time. It moved to 84 rue de Grenelle in the 7 th arrondissement which is still its headquarters today.
How to be a good lady patron
Right from the start, good works were an important part of the work of the SNHF… In 1844, twenty ladies from the highest echelons of society met under the aegis of the Duke Decazes and Héricart de Thury, and declared themselves to be "Dames Patronnesses de l'Horticulture" (Lady Patrons of Horticulture), with the aim of offering their encouragement to gardeners and, above all, helping those who were in need. Their role was far more than an honorary one.
Engravings taken from old books owned by the SNHF library
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