France 96 - Villandry - a garden with a difference - where have all the flowers gone?

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Our time in France is soon to be over. We had spent a night on an aire and were trying to work out what to do next. Our first thought how much longer would we be able to stay on another aire tonight. This time at the chateau of Villandry. We knew there was plenty of room to park alongside the road in between the plane trees and a further aire just down the road. We had googled it on line and seen the parking and the overnight stop and it all looked pretty good . We had phoned the Chunnel up and moved our return home by yet another day. Having paid another £8 we were coming home now two days early.

Our plan was to visit first the chateau. We had seen a gardening programme by Monty Don some years ago when he visited gardens in France. Somewhere in the back of our minds we remembered that this garden was going to be different. Different to what though I hear you say? Well in England gardens of stately homes are usually set in large green swathes of grass with impressive trees . A typically British landscape complete with bridges, follys and lakes . None of this at Villandry. If you want typically English this is not a garden for you. So what else can you expect from an English country garden ? A cottage garden a riot of colour and no formality . No cottage garden here. Then there is the formal British gardens and parks with regimented rows of marigolds and summer bedding. Floral clocks and walled gardens. Rows of spring long borders full of tulips, daffodils and spring bulbs, summer bedding foxgloves and lupins of all colour and autumn colour. Villandry defies anything you ever imagine a garden should be .

First the chateau. It is a typical french chateau. Nothing different, nothing strange just your average chateau. With its unique furnishings, décor and atmosphere, the Château de Villandry is a living testimony of French heritage. When Jean Le Breton acquired the Villandry estate, the building was a Mediaeval fortress. The defensive architecture was pared down, opened up and enhanced with elements of Renaissance décor. In the 18th century, the Marquis de Castellane moved into Villandry and made some major changes to transform the building into a warm, bright and comfortable home that reflected the art of living at that time. By the end of the 19th century the estate had fallen into disuse and was saved from dereliction by Joachim Carvallo and Ann Coleman, who in turn undertook a campaign of restoration to return it to its Renaissance state. We paid our entry fee for both the house and the garden. It was rather odd to be shouted at by the lady on the counter as I am sure she thought that I was trying to steal the magnets I had chosen from the display. Having paid her we walked out into the garden and the first thing we saw were catfish. Hundreds of them in the moat around the castle . From there we walked into the castle. Room after room of french furniture and french decoration on the walls and the ceilings. Pretty furniture but the best was nothing to do with what was inside the castle but what was outside .

So why "Where have all the flowers gone?" A song from the 60's. A protest song which I heard many times on the radio. It is perfect for this garden. There were no flowers . Well that is not quite right . There were flowers a few of the them but the garden was mostly taken over by vegetables. Yes you have read that right - I did say vegetables. The garden can be seen best from the rooftop of the chateau. As you look down you see bed after bed of box hedging. Most only a foot high and not a sign of box blight. Inside a few beds were lilac coloured plants which waved in the wind. Other strange plants were in them but I cannot name one of them. To one side were box hedges and intricate knot gardens with pretty designs in which were bright red begonias. They would have been over in Britain but here in France the season was continuing and the flowers were stunning. Apples were being grown as step over plants and these were used as small edgings. Inside were ornamental cabbages with lilac and white insides , carrots with their leafy fronds blowing in the wind. Leeks silver and green and spikey. One bed was full of yellow and orange chillis. Green chillis hung from plants. At each corner was a wooden structure which in summer had been full of roses . Each bed had a plaque and it told what vegetables were being grown in each plot . Purple sage instead of purple flowers. Onions instead of gladioli . It was seriously wierd and in my head it should not have worked . But here it worked perfectly. The garden had no need of flowers. The vegetables did the business.

So where had all the flowers gone? Who cares ? If you want a garden with a difference make your way to Villandry.

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