1. The Glasshouse

First consul of France Napoléon Bonaparte approved and funded Nicolas Baudin’s (1800 -1804) French maritime expedition to map the coast of New Holland (now Australia).  Napoléon was fascinated by voyages of scientific discovery, and in addition to charting the ‘unknown’ southern coast, Baudin was tasked with studying the natural sciences by collecting living and preserved specimens of plants and animals. 

Baudin's instructions from Napoléon in 1800 were to:  

‘… make up this collection of living animals of all kinds, insects, and especially of birds with beautiful plumage. As regards animals, I don’t need to tell you how to choose between those intended for the menageries and those for a collection of pure pleasure. You will appreciate that it must comprise flowers, shrubs, seeds, shells, precious stones, timber for fine works of marquetry, insects, butterflies, etc. …’

Upon the return of the expedition to France, many of the animals were destined for Empress Joséphine Bonaparte’s Château de Malmaison estate, where she established a pleasure garden. Natural specimens from the expedition were shared between Malmaison and the Natural History Museum in Paris. The seeds, plants, and wildlife that Josephine obtained from the Baudin expedition stimulated her fascination with Australia and led to the cultivation of more than two hundred Australian plants at Malmaison, including numerous varieties of eucalypts, banksia, fuchsia, casuarina and bottlebrush. Within her gardens roamed kangaroos, emus and her prized black swans. 

The centrepiece of Joséphine's garden was the Grande Serre Chaude, an enormous hot house which was heated by twelve coal stoves, allowing for the cultivation and survival of exotic plants from around the world.  Joséphine collected these plants not only from returning French expeditions but from a system of exchange with botanists across the known world.

The magnificent glasshouse at Malmaison was an object of wonder and fascination. Its colonnades and palatial glass domes provided Joséphine with a unique setting where she entertained foreign dignitaries, politicians, and the nobility. 

In addition to her enthusiasm for rare and exotic plants, Joséphine developed a passion for roses and established a rose garden within the Malmaison estate. She collected all the known species of roses, and it is believed that there were over two hundred varieties planted at Malmaison.