Assistant director of the Paris Observatory and founder of the Rio de Janeiro Observatory, he was an astronomer but botany was his passion. He made the most of his time in Brazil to ship South American plants to Cherbourg from 1873 onwards. He also imported plants from Asia.
At the end of the 19th century, exotic gardens were all the rage. Well-off families tried to outdo each other in ingenuity. Indeed, some of them lost their whole fortunes in the attempt.
Married to a Dutch woman Margaritha Trouwen, Emmanuel Liais had no children. On his death, he bequeathed his property to the town of Cherbourg.
Covering a full hectare, the gardens that bear his name contain greenhouses displaying more than five hundred varieties of plants.
The gardens contain a number of rare plants, including a jubea from Brazil. This rare palm is the only one acclimatised in a French botanical garden. There is also a Lambert cypress.
Cherbourg's temperate climate allows exotic plants to thrive at uncommon latitudes.
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