Description
Evrard Ketten (1842-1912) was one of the leading rose breeders established in Avenue de la Faïencerie. He was a member of the Grossherzoglicher Acker-und Gartenbau-Verein Committee and Chairman of the Confrérie St-Fiacre (Saint Fiacre Brotherhood). He was a member of the municipal council from 1887 to 1912, and chair of the City of Luxembourg's Finances Committee. He was also a member of the Society of Luxembourg Naturalists. Ketten was actively involved in promoting the development of Limpertsberg, including the building of a primary school and a district church. Yet, Evrard Ketten went down in history as a businessman. In recognition of his contributions to the country's large rose-growing industry, he received several awards and distinctions, including being made Knight in the Order of Leopold (Belgium). After having studied under the rose-breeders Soupert and Notting, Evrard Ketten founded a gardening company in 1869, specialising in all types of garden-related tasks, be it growing fruit trees, useful or decorative trees and shrubs, and flowers and vegetables. "Evrard Ketten and Jean Holss" also drew up plans and drawings for new gardens and conducted the works to create them themselves, from initial levelling of the land through to final completion. As specialists in the cultivation of roses, Evrard Ketten and his brothers, Jean (1857-1892) and Mathias (1855-1947) – operating as the company "Ketten frères" – were awarded a silver medal at the Luxembourg Horticultural Exhibition in 1874. In 1883, the company was awarded the gold medal at the Rose Exhibition in Mons. In 1885, "Ketten Frères" took part in the Antwerp Universal Exhibition and won a gold medal for a collection featuring 100 rose plants of the same variety. In 1888, the company won second prize in the Brussels Rose Competition for a collection of 150 roses. In 1889 and 1900, they received their highest distinction: gold medals at the Expositions Universelles in Paris. Their winning streak continued in 1903 with a gold medal at the Nancy Horticultural Exhibition. In 1908, Evrard Ketten sat on the panel of judges at the Floralies exhibition in Ghent. By 1905, the company had received more than 100 distinctions and awards. In 1925, "Ketten Frères" were part of the Luxembourg delegation at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris. In 1938, the "Prix de Rome" gold medal was dedicated to the "Ketten Frères"–bred rose, the "Grande-Duchesse Charlotte".
From as early as 1885, "Ketten Frères & Comp." was producing on an industrial scale, and constituted a considerable burden on the Luxembourg City water supply system. Their nursery drastically increased local water consumption. In 1890, the company began the large-scale production of sphagnum moss in Hautcharage. The moss was essential for the preparation of roses for shipment to distant destinations. Evrard Ketten is also known to have contributed to the planting of roses in the Tsar's garden in Saint Petersburg. In 1892, Grand Duke Adolphe was impressed by the beehives that were used to facilitate the reproduction of Ketten's rose plants. The soil-bed nurseries covered more than 15 hectares. Five large greenhouses were used for reproduction and winter production. Five 30-metre long, 8-metre wide underground facilities, all well-lit, ventilated and impermeable to frost, were used in winter for roses that were to be shipped in winter, and in spring, for those that were to be shipped internationally. In 1905, the company planted between 400,000 and 500,000 rose bush hips for the production of dwarf roses, and 100,000 rose tree hips for the production of rose trees. In 1922, the company's catalogue, which was distributed world-wide, listed 1,500 varieties of roses. The company employed between 30 and 50 workers, depending on the time of year. In 1910, Evrard Ketten founded a new company, "Ketten Frères", which he ran with his niece, Marguerite Ketten, and his son, Jean, a landscape architect. The company gained a world-wide reputation and existed until 1948. In 1938, the City of Luxembourg named a street in Limpertsberg after Evrard Ketten.
