Gardens of the Loire - Day 2 - Even further afield

Having started our holiday in France with an 'English' garden, the highlight of day two was a Japanese Garden. Not just any Japanese garden, on no, the largest Japanese Garden in Europe no less! It's even been approved by the Japanese.

The Parc Oriental de Maulévrier was built in the early 1900s by a Parisian designer but was restored in the 1980s and is based around a stretch of river.

 

Azeleas and Bamboo trimmed according to 'tamazukuri' or making round. Plants and shrubs trimmed to represent hills, rocks or clouds.

Cloud pruned Box tree.

The three tenets of Japanese pruning: to control size and shape, to open up the plant to light and air, and to expose the beauty of the plant and it's branching habit, certainly all evident here.

Stunning Wisteria 'tunnel', there was also Wisteria trained into freestanding trees.

 Panoramic view of the river and Kmer temple from the jetty.

The water in the garden echoes the progress of human life from childhood to old age, with rushing streams, waterfalls, broad watercourses with islands and still, tranquil pools.

Amazing colour and shapes...

...more 'making round', and no, I'm not referring to Mum!

Stunning cloud pruned Yew, the gold is the new growth and it was under planted with an undulating cloud of a tiny, silvery plant which I haven't managed to identify. Any ideas?

Statuesque Bamboo...

 

...beautiful bark and Magnolias - even they were cloud pruned, together with Beech Trees and Cherry Laurels!

Peaceful reflections and Carp

The mounds of bamboo echoing the moss covered rocks, and an amazing pancake pruned Yew.

Temples and drifts of Orchidée jacinthe 'Bletilla striata'

 This sums up the visit, fantastic shapes, colours and textures, but all muted (but not spoiled) by rain showers.

Our visit ended with a look round the bonsai house and a well deserved sit down in the tea room with the best cup of Earl Grey ever!

I feel we really should see a French style garden next!

Gardens of the Loire - Day 1 - Home from home

I'm sitting at the computer having just returned from my annual foray into gorgeous gardens with my lovely Mum, and wondering where to start! This is the third holiday Mum has organised for us, we started with Florence in 2013 which you can read about here, here and here, last year we explored Somerset which you can read about here, here and here. 

This year we set of to the Loire Valley in France with Brightwater Holidays. We spent a day travelling across the channel and through France on the train and arrived in Anger ready to gorge on gardens. It didn't disappoint and it'll take me a number of posts to do it justice. I promise not to post all of my 486 photos (taken over 3 days only!) but it may take me a while to edit them down and still do the gardens justice.

The first garden we visited was Jardin du Petit Bordeaux at Saint-Biez-en-Belin, ironically an English style garden!

Amazingly this garden has been built by a couple in just 28 years, there are photographs of the empty clearing in the woods that they started with. Now the garden is a delightfully shady glade filled with shrubs and perennials that looks like it has always been there. We visited on a gloriously sunny morning but the garden is cool and very shady so it was fascinating to see the planting, with some things I really didn't expect!

With the house nestled at the back of the garden, paths snake around ponds full of amorous and extremely noisy frogs...

through impressive mature trees and shrubs

and lead around the house which is almost buried in the garden.

Pergolas and summer houses offer shelter along the way...

...amongst beautiful Rhododendrons...

...statuesque Candelabra primulas...

...fantastic combinations of Maples (amazingly 90+ varieties) and Bamboo...

and columns of clipped Yew.

There were some flamboyant Peonies flowering, managing well in the shade...

...and a myriad of Hosta variations...

 

and a new favourite for me Podophyllum 'spotty dotty'. This I will be trying to track down and add to my garden in a moist and shady spot.

Striking Silver Birches amongst undulating clipped Box and dramatic Cercis canadensis.

  Banks of Rhododendron and Azaleas.

Also new to me, Sinocalycalycanthus raulstonii 'hartlage wine', a graceful shrub with beautiful flowers and a more familiar ragged Silene

And just to torture ourselves we visited the nursery area which contained pretty much everything we would have wanted and at very reasonable prices - typical!

This garden has won national awards in France and I can see why, it is known as the Jardin d'atmospheres and it certainly had atmosphere in spades. It is off the beaten track but well worth a visit and has a pretty shop with an insect collection collected by the owners son.

A very good start to our French garden odyssey.

Feast of Flowers number 3

Bright, blowsy and cheery.

Have a good weekend all x

Veggie progress!

My Grow-your own year has started!

I know, I'm a bit late and, as usual a bit unplanned (actually I usually have a very good plan, I just don't keep to it!). Seeds have been sown - Runner beans, French beans, Broad beans and peas to be specific, and now I have 8 Peas, 8 Runner beans, 8 Broad beans and 0 French beans. 

(I know the label on the pot makes it look like I bought these from the garden centre but I didn't - honest, it's just a second hand pot and I really truly did grow them all myself!)

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, indeed you read correctly, that's 0 French beans. I planted 10 modules of each and with the exception of the French beans, at least  9 germinated so that I could choose the strongest. So why the shy Frenchies - out of character I would have said, and they've always been very reliable in the past as you can see here.

I shall try another lot, I like a French bean, when I can get them to germinate!

And when they're all hardened off they will be put into my newly spruced veg bed.

Look at that, all dug over and neat and tidy. This is the most relaxed time - all anticipation and no plants to water or get munched by slugs. Nothing to require training/reviving/picking or attempting to bolt! 

Next is the busy time of growing and nurturing and then, with fair weather and a bit of luck, the satisfying time of picking and eating!

Can't wait - YUM!

Right, time to give those French beans another go.

New bloomer - Trillium

My 'new bloom' acquisition for April (I know it's May but I just got destracted from posting!)  is something I've never grown before but have admired in various gardens - a Trillium.

It was a present from a very dear old family friend who acquired it from a very illustrious source (Mary I'm impressed by your sneakiness - well done!), so I really hope that it does well. 

I have researched Trilliums and here is the RHS advice

I need to find somewhere sheltered and moist but not waterlogged, and I need to be patient. Apparently they establish slowly, like peonies, but once established are long lived. I've never had great success with Peonies but I'm determined not to take this as an omen.

 It has lovely large, fleshy, slightly blotched leaves and a beautiful white, upright flower, sitting at the centre of three leaves.

At the centre of the three petals are sunny yellow stamens.

 However, something has been having a nibble already - I will have to be vigilant!

Wish me luck!