300 years ago, Europe's first magnolia landed in Nantes. "Today, magnolia is always our pride and glory. Nantes has the largest collection of magnolias in France with more than 500 varieties, "explained Jean-Marc Ayrault at the “1.2.3 magnolia” event.

To celebrate this tricentenary, the Japanese artist Kinya Maruyama collectively realized installations during a workshop in the Garden plants.

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"Students from the Jules Rieffel High School in Saint Herblain and the Nantes School of Fine Arts, students from the Villa Maria primary school and the gardeners of the city of Nantes, collaborated by bringing their unique  outlook and know-how".

Impossible not to think then of Japan which is living an unprecedented catastrophe. "In Nantes, the emotion was very strong, so important is the Franco-Japanese friendship. This morning, we symbolically plant with Kinya Maruyama a ginkgo, symbol of resistance and longevity, because it is the tree that survived in Hiroshima.