French students helping Magnolia Gardens find rare plants

CHARLESTON, SC – Two French horticultural students are visiting Magnolia Plantation and Gardens this summer to help the garden locate rare varieties of camellias and azaleas in Europe that weren’t imported to America three centuries ago. Jean-Christophe Pigeon and Thibaut Jeandel are students at the prestigious Versailles National School of Landscape Architecture in Paris.

Pigeon, a graphic designer, is studying how to design parks and gardens. Thibaut is using his knowledge of sound engineering to explore ways to amplify the natural sounds in a garden to enhance the experience.

Their visit to Magnolia is tied to Magnolia’s affiliation with the Great Gardens of America Preservation Alliance that grew out of a meeting at Magnolia in 2008 to preserve ancient varieties of camellias and azaleas. Since its inception, the alliance has grown to more than 30 gardens in ten Southern states. Magnolia is the nation’s last romantic garden, a concept developed in Europe.

Pigeon says he likes the moss-draped oak trees at Magnolia and the presence of a romantic garden in a Southern landscape. “It is a special area where everything grows,” he says.

When Pigeon and Thibaut return to Paris in mid August they plan to look for varieties of camellias and azaleas that were not imported to Charleston. Miles Beach, director of Magnolia’s camellia collection, says there are many cultivars in Europe that never came to the United States in the 18th century. “We want to get those too,” he adds.

Tom Johnson, Magnolia’s director of gardens, says, “We are hoping that through this relationship (with Pigeon and Thibaut) we can make our romantic garden more in tune with what was in France and take the concept as close to the roots for the future.”

While in the Lowcountry, Pigeon and Thibaut are visiting public and private gardens and Drayton Hall, adjacent to Magnolia Gardens, and elsewhere in the South. “We visit the gardens to see different plants and learn the histories of the gardens,” Pigeon says. They are particularly interested in gardens in the historic district of Charleston that were designed in the early 20th century by famed landscape architect Lutrell Briggs, Jeandel says.

Johnson says, “When we set up this internship we were looking for an exchange that goes beyond acquiring plant material. We want American students to travel to France next year to stimulate an exchange of culture around horticulture.”