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Jardin de Valérianes
In contrast to Château de Vandrimare which had been in the same family since 1492 (!) and which I just wrote about, Jardin de Valérianes is a smaller creation by its current owners. The garden was in two parts on each side of the road with a lot of interesting perennials, some roses and a lot of cool (as in modern hybrids) shrubs and smaller trees.Calycanthus floridus, might have been a particular hybrid. Paeonia delavayi var. lutea An azalea with Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ Cercidipyllum japonicum ‘Rotfuchs’ A double Rubus, and at the moment I can’t remeber what the hybrid is called.. Trillium, might be T.flexipes
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Château de Vandrimare
Seeing the park at Château de Vandrimare was very interesting, I think it was the one garden that I missed the first time I was in Normandy since for some reason I had the wrong opening times. Seeing it now with our wonderful group did not go quite perfectly either. We were shown around by the owner himself who was really knowledgeable and had collected some wonderful trees, shrubs and perennials to the garden. The problem was just the weather that did not play ball. Despite our visit being in the middle of May, it was very windy and at one point it hailed! It hailedMespilus germanica, one of many…
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Project Exhaustion
If it weren’t for the weather I would be quite excited about the new border I’m making. I’m finally going to have a large perennial border that will suit both large perennials and grasses. There will be two passageways through it so there will also be nice spots for smaller and lower plants. There will be mostly perennials, but a few woody plants so it’s not quite a modern perennial border à la Piet Oudolf, but a mixed border with some prairie touches. Absolutely no cottage garden though. “Project Exhaustion”, or perhaps it’s called “Project Fatigue” is however, what I’ve been feeling towards my massive new flower bed during the…
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Le Vasterival
Le Vasterival was the garden that I was most looking forward to seeing on our trip. It is world renown and it is one that I had not been able to visit before, as you can only visit it as part of a group. It was created by Princess Greta Sturdza and her husband Prince Georges Sturdza of Moldavia in the mid-twentieth century and Princess Greta continued to develop it until her death a few years ago.It is a spectacular collector’s garden that still manages to be very beautiful. The plants are planted in naturalistic groupings, mostly in a woodland setting. The combinations are stunning. An exquisite Acer palmatum All sorts…
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Parc du Bois des Moutiers
This gorgeous house was originally created by the famous English architect Edward Lutyens and the park was influenced by Gertrude Jekyll. It’s in the Arts and Crafts style that the pair represented. The park is 12 hectares and it’s situated on a slope towards the sea. The gardens near the house and more formal and towards the sea there are beautiful woodland areas with a lot of Rhododendron, rare trees and azaleas. It is truly a stunning place! The pergola Lovely Viburnum Beautiful Rhododendron And a sweet azalea.
