Alexandre Hardy (1787-1876), head-gardener at the Jardin du Luxembourg catalogued the roses growing there from around 1852 to 1860. Francois Joyaux, in
La Rose de France, pp. 305-310, lists the Gallica Roses growing in the Luxembourg at that time.
[From The Rose Garden, by William Paul, pp. 59- The most renowned Rosarium in Europe was formerly that of the Jardin du Luxembourg at Paris... I remember seeing there, in the month of June, on my first visit to Paris, a Standard of the Tea 'Princesse Hélène du Luxembourg', of an immense size, with hundreds of its fine flowers in beautiful condition... [Paul provides diagrams of the garden] ... a line of fruit trees [was] originally planted in the borders surrounding the Rose-beds, forming a sort of back-ground... These gardens were enclosed by a kind of fence made of light sticks, which are much used in France for similar purposes. The manner of planting adopted was this: -- The beds were about seven feet wide, and contained two rows. Two plants of each variety, a standard and a dwarf, were planted side by side at distances of about three feet. They were so disposed that every standard had a dwarf behind it, and in consequence every dwarf was backed by a standard... [there were about 1,800 plants]
[From The Old Rose Advisor, by Brent C. Dickerson, p. 13:] The most splendid collection in France [as of 1848, that is] is that in the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris, which is under the supervision of Monsieur Hardy...
