| Some flowers spoke with strong and powerful voices, which proclaimed in accents trumpet-tongued, "I am beautiful, and I rule". Others murmured in tones scarcely audible, but exquisetly soft and sweet, "I am little, and I am beloved". George Sand (Armandine A.L. Dupin), (1804 - 1876) |
Jardin de Plantbessin
This garden is in the Bessin area of Basse-Normandie which is characterised by small paddocks surrounded by hedges that hide rustic farm buildings. It was first laid out in 1986 as a display area for their nursery garden by Colette and Hubert Sainte-Beuve. The climate here is an excellent one for gardening, with relatively high rainfall but with the hot summers of a continental climate.
The garden only occupies a 50m square space, but its planting is diverse and its design is intimate and compact. Garden enclosures comprise an old orchard, scented garden, pergola, oriental garden, gazebo, English borders, waterlily pond, fishpond and water garden. Each enclosure has its own horticultural theme and is more or less self-sufficient. Once you have been round the garden, you will be astonished at how much there is to admire and how harmoniously the various parts flow from one to the next. Whenever the richness of the planting seems to be on the verge of overwhelming the senses, some refreshingly simple interlude or piece of crisp formality provides the discipline and sends one in search of more.