Domaine du Gazania in Labastide-du-Temple, Tarn-et-Garonne, combines winegrowing, horticulture, and a tropical greenhouse run by co-managers Éric Colombié and his brother. Located in the middle of the Tarn-et-Garonne orchards, the property integrates exotic plants directly into its working agricultural farm. The brothers took over the family business from their parents, expanding and diversifying the operation over many years.
The farm includes six hectares of vineyards dedicated to producing red wine and rosé wine. It also features two hectares of plum tree cultivation and one and a half hectares of table grapes. The table grape crops produce muscat, chasselas, and seedless Saint-Côme varieties.
This year, grape harvesting began 15 days earlier than usual because of high summer heat. Everything produced on the estate, from fresh fruit to bottled wine, is sold directly to visitors on site.
Agricultural crops and visitor experience
Visitors traveling to Labastide-du-Temple can walk through the large vegetated space, which offers a constant mix of colors, scents, flavors, and atmospheres. Customers who recently completed a walk through the exotic greenhouse described the setting as peaceful, charming, and exotic. They noted the presence of water and birdsong in the open air, adding that the tour allowed them to travel without taking an airplane.
After visiting the tropical enclosure, guests typically make a detour to the farm flower greenhouse to purchase a souvenir. The miniature tropical forest inside the domain was inaugurated more than 30 years ago.
Éric Colombié explained at the entrance to the greenhouse that the family hosted their initial inauguration among friends and customers in 1992. Expansion work was later carried out in 2002, bringing the greenhouse to nearly 1,000 square meters in total area with a height of over six meters.
Exotic greenhouse design and plant species
Colombié explained that the space is both small and large at the same time. He noted that tourists today are accustomed to massive attraction parks, so a human-scaled space may seem small, but the family manages the operation without receiving any financial aid or subsidies.
Maintaining a tropical ecosystem in a non-tropical region represents a significant challenge. Heating and maintenance costs for the greenhouse can grow exponentially, particularly during the winter months. Through the investment of Colombié and his brother, the farm has created an immersive universe containing a vast array of plant species.
Along the visitor path, the greenhouse presents a wide variety of spectacular plants. These include bougainvillea native to South American tropical rainforests, aristolochia from Brazil, strelitzia from southern Africa, banana trees, hibiscus, and large Nile papyrus plants.
The co-managers also cultivate fruit trees within the greenhouse structure. Visitors interested in avocados, dragon fruits, guavas, mini-pineapples, and mangoes can sample harvested fruits after returning to the storage room used for keeping fruit and wine bottles.
On the day of the report, Éric Colombié offered customers a taste of the fruit from the philodendron, a plant originating from Central and South America whose fruit is literally named delicious fruit. Domaine du Gazania, registered as Gaec du Gazania, is located at 793 chemin de Sainte-Livrade in Labastide-du-Temple, department 82. The farm can be contacted at 05.63.31.63.25 or through its website at domainedugazania.fr.
