Читать книгу 101 Romantic Weekends in Europe - Sarah Woods - Страница 23

CONTACT Château Villandry Tel: +33 2 47 50 02 09 Fax: +33 2 47 50 12 Email: info@chateauvillandry.com www.chateauvillandry.com

With its annual ‘Rendezvous in the Gardens’ and Candlelit Garden Evenings, the Château de Villandry is no stranger to romance. Since its construction in 1536, as one of the last Loire Valley Renaissance-era châteaux, Villandry was built by Jean le Breton, a former ambassador to Italy, who had developed a passion for the art of romantic gardens whilst studying in Rome.

Today the château’s exquisite, re-laid 16th century parterres continue to draw gasps from visitors to this extensive, geometric garden punctuated by clipped box hedges and neatly trimmed, low-lying shrubs. Particularly resplendent are the stunning displays of varicoloured year-round blooms planted on two stepped terraces. Combining the style of a French monastic garden with Italianate models like those depicted in Du Cerceau etchings, these flowered checkerboards are truly breathtaking – and guaranteed to make every green-thumbed visitor weak at the knees.

Set on the banks of the Cher River and flanked by a cliffside pathway, the gardens of the Château de Villandry have been crafted around the flow of water, beginning in a large basin toward the rear of the grounds. Individually created stepped gardens are broken by bridges and small waterfalls, ringed by a canal-fed moat and centred on a main courtyard. A handsome potager sits amongst a vast, embroidery-like carpet of rare and colourful flowers. Fragrant herbs form a tufted rug beneath a boulevard of 1,500 perfectly manicured mature trees. Pungent spices hide amongst a decorative kitchen garden, segmented into perfect squares by fruit tree borders and vegetable beds, whilst saplings gaze up at vast canopies amidst triangular lawns and precisely cut box sculptures. A swan-filled ornamental lake offers subdued calm amongst the vibrancy and colour of the rest of the garden, a spectacle that is enhanced during the Château’s celebrated festivals when myriad lanterns adorn pebbled pathways and pergolas.

Romantics keen to whisper sweet nothings amongst the hedgerows should visit during the French lunchtime (12–2pm). The blissful seclusion offered by the Château’s leafy, labyrinthine paths makes it the perfect spot for amour. Stroll across the gardens dedicated to adoration, as well as ornamental terraces displaying rich depictions of the ancient symbols of chivalric love. Pass by the dahlia-planted hearts of the Tender Love area before pausing amongst the blooms of the Passionate Love garden. Delight in a voyage of romance where floral odes to the facets of love have blossomed over many centuries past.

The picture-perfect potager at Château Villandry; punctuated by fountains and shielded by formal hedges, this is a true garden of romance.