The botanical garden Christian Grosclaude

Located in the heart of the village of Mazet-Saint-Voy, right next to the farmers’ market, the Christian Grosclaude botanical garden is home to over 450 species of plants.
Whether you’re a botany enthusiast or just a stroller, come and enjoy the peace and quiet of this corner of nature, which reveals all its charms with each new season.

There are no “weeds”, only plants that grow where we don’t want them to.

The creation of the garden

The idea of creating a botanical garden in Le Mazet-St-Voy was born in 1987.

An overgrown plot of communal landin the heart of the village, unused for many years, lent itself perfectly to the installation of this space.
With a surface area of around 2 hectares, the land is criss-crossed by a charming little stream and features a number of very different environments (well-exposed meadow, wetlands, stream banks, copses, etc.). This will enable it to host a wide variety of plants!

The volunteers of the Association Environnement et Patrimoine du Mazet were behind the creation of the garden, and in particular Christian Grosclaude, an active member of the association with a passion for botany.

The garden has been gradually developed and, over the years, has been enriched with numerous plant species to reach its current state. Environnement et Patrimoine is responsible for its management, in close collaboration with the municipality, which is responsible for its upkeep.

A wide variety of flora

There are now over 450 different species in the garden.

It includes the region’s most important and most common spontaneous plants, the ones you come across everywhere and therefore pay little attention to… But above all, you’ll also find the characteristic species of the montane zone (which lies at an altitude of between 900 and 1600 meters). There are also a few species of thesubalpine level (between 1600 and 2300 meters altitude), which can be found not far from here, on the Mezenc massif.

To these species we must add plants of various origins, introduced and sometimes subspontaneous, or cultivated in private gardens and presenting a certain interest.

Let us guide you…

In July and August, guided tours of the botanical garden are organized by the Environnement et Patrimoine association (free participation). See the agenda! Group tours are also available on request.
You can also obtain the Botanical Garden Visitor’s Guide, published by the same association and on sale at the Halle Fermière. It lists all the plants present in the garden, identified by a serial number on the label.

An LPO refuge

The botanical garden is also classified as an LPO refuge, and everything is in place to welcome, protect and encourage nature and biodiversity (nest boxes, insect shelters…). Every year in June, the LPO organizes a “listening to and discovering the botanical garden’s birds” visit, free of charge. Check the agenda!

The agricultural machinery shed

Discover the agricultural machinery shed, a veritable museum retracing the evolution of farming on the plateau, with tractors and other farm machinery dating from the early 20th century to more recent times.

Photo exhibition

In July and August, the garden hosts an exhibition as part of the 6×6 photography festival, created in 2021, which takes place every summer in the six communes of Haut-Lignon. An ideal setting to discover the talent of one of the photographers selected for this photographic journey.