Gardens Near and Far

Jean-Philippe Teyssier, landscape architect, takes us on a journey to discover the most beautiful gardens in France and Europe.

Kenroku-en

Gardens Near and Far episode 33 – Kenroku-en

Gardens Near and Far episode 33: With its lake, its waterfalls and its 8000 trees belonging to 18 different species, this vast garden is one of the most beautiful in Japan. Kenroku-en, meaning the garden of six virtues, is in the city of Kanazawa.     As Kanazawa’s harsh winter approaches, the gardeners engage in a curious airborne ballet. They are putting up Yuki-tsuri – giant bamboo and rope umbrellas designed to keep the weight of the snow off the big trees. Landscape architect Jean-Philippe Teyssier takes us on a discovery of the most beautiful gardens in France and the […]

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Gardens Near and Far episode 32 – Jnan Sbil

Gardens Near and Far episode 32 – Jnan Sbil

Gardens Near and Far episode 32 – Jnan Sbil: at the intersection of the old city and the vast new city, the garden of Jnan Sbil, meaning “paradise” in Arabic, stretches for over 7 hectares. The city of Fez, in the North of Morocco, possesses the world’s largest Medina.     In the 18 th century, it was created by Sultan Moulay Abdallah and became a public garden last century. Its outstanding vegetation is made up of numerous varieties such as eucalyptus, pine and palm, all over a century old. An atmosphere of balminess and peace reigns in the middle

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Gardens Near and Far episode 31 – Hanbury

Gardens Near and Far episode 31 – Hanbury

Gardens Near and Far episode 31 – Hanbury : Out on cape Mortola – between Menton and Ventimiglia – the Hanbury garden will mesmerize you with its beautiful landscapes. This classified site protects the Italian coast on about 6 kilometers. The splendor of nineteenth century botanical gardens combines harmoniously with exotic species imported from the world over.     In the middle of the nineteenth century, the Brit Thomas Hanbury and his brother Daniel – coming from a family of botanists – buy the estate. They were raised by devout Quakers who taught them a deep sense of respect and

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Gardens Near and Far episode 30 – Gravetye

Gardens Near and Far episode 30 – Gravetye

Gardens Near and Far episode 30 – Gravetye: This garden, located in the south of England, reveals a wild side of nature, with its abundance of flowering perennials. It was designed by champion of the “wild garden” William Robinson.     At the end of the 19th century, Robinson, an Irishman, launched a war on regular and geometrical gardens. Close to the Arts and Crafts movement, an artistic movement born in England in the 1860s, he considered that art should intervene everywhere and that beauty should be useful. As a result, his garden was also designed so that the orchard

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Maria Luisa Park

Gardens Near and Far episode 29 – Maria Luisa Park

Gardens Near and Far episode 29: spanning 34 hectares, the Maria Luisa Park, which is a mosaic of gardens, constitutes the lungs of the city of Seville. It was opened to the public in 1914.     The park illustrates the landscape theories of town planner and botanist Jean Nicolas Forestier, who was convinced of the need for green spaces in cities, at the start of the 20th century. The French architect / landscape gardener arrived in Spain having spent part of his career in Morocco, where he discovered the Arab culture of gardens. He adapted this culture to Seville’s

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Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh

Gardens Near and Far episode 28 – Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh

Gardens Near and Far episode 28: The Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh was established in 1670, at the time of the British Empire’s major expeditions.     At the time, botanists travelled the world collecting plants, studying them, and presenting to the public, students and plant lovers.Up until the 16th century, the plants were used in treating disease or for food. Subsequently, they were collected for classification and study, and formed the foundations of botanical science. Landscape architect Jean-Philippe Teyssier takes us on a discovery of the most beautiful gardens in France and the world. The gardeners, landscapers, horticulturalists, architects, historians

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Gardens Near and Far episode 26 – Domaine du Rayol

Gardens Near and Far episode 26 – Domaine du Rayol

Gardens Near and Far episode 26: the Domaine du Rayol is a surprising 20-hectare garden in which exotic plants live in harmony with Mediterranean scrubland.     Contemporary landscape gardener Gilles Clément gave the garden its current diversity. With his concept of “planetary garden”, he revolutionised the way gardens are perceived. Certain species have adapted to the Mediterranean environment thanks to age-old strategies revealing the incredible intelligence of the vegetal world. Landscape architect Jean-Philippe Teyssier takes us on a discovery of the most beautiful gardens in France and the world. The gardeners, landscapers, horticulturalists, architects, historians and estate managers he

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Quinta da Regaleira

Gardens Near and Far episode 25 – Quinta da Regaleira

Gardens Near and Far episode 25: created in the 16th century in Sinta, 40 km from Lisbon, the Quinta da Regaleira was a garden for the acclimatization of exotic plants that the Portuguese navigators brought back from their travels to Asia and the Americas.     In the 19th century, a famous owner, Antonio Augusto Carvalho Monteiro, was to make his mark on the place. He added various symbols, mysteries and enigmas for visitors to the 4-hectare garden. The resulting singular atmosphere of disconcerting strangeness makes this garden one of the most surprising places in the area around Lisbon. Landscape

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Palacio dos Marqueses de Fronteira

Gardens Near and Far episode 24 – Palacio dos Marqueses de Fronteira

Gardens Near and Far episode 24 – Palacio dos Marqueses de Fronteira: this baroque garden is decorated with thousands of small mosaic tiles, the famous “Azulejos” that recount the glory of the re-conquest of the independence of Portugal in the 16th century.     Despite its regular appearance, the garden evokes the Moor palaces with their refreshing fountains, thanks to a hydraulic system from Arab culture. Since the 17th century, the palace and its garden have been handed down from generation to generation within the same family. Landscape architect Jean-Philippe Teyssier takes us on a discovery of the most beautiful

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Gardens Near and Far episode 23 – Ninfa

Gardens Near and Far episode 23 – Ninfa

Gardens Near and Far episode 23 – Ninfa : By the twelfth century, the ancient settlement of Ninfa had become a sizeable town with a castle. The noble Caetani family were granted the fiefdom. But the town’s population was decimated by civil wars in the fourteenth century, then driven out by malaria.     Ninfa lay abandoned until the twentieth century, when three generations of Caetani women – Ada, Marguerite and Lelia – became fascinated with it and made a garden in the ruins of the old town. Wild and cultivated plants twine through the ruins in a riot of

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Villa d’Este

Gardens Near and Far episode 22 – Villa d’Este

Gardens Near and Far episode 22 – Villa d’Este: The Villa d’Este near Rome in Italy was a model for all Renaissance gardens that followed.     Created in the 16th century by Cardinal Hippolyte d’Este, who was descended from a wealthy family in Ferrare, the gardens are set on a hill overlooking a villa. Work on creating the gardens started in 1550, and continued for over 20 years. In the 19th century, they underwent long periods of abandon, but paradoxically, the abundant, wild vegetation attracted artists like Fragonard and Liszt, who composed “The Fountains of the Villa d’Este” there.

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Valsanzibio

Gardens Near and Far episode 21 – Valsanzibio

Gardens Near and Far episode 21 – Valsanzibio: The Valsanzibio gardens, located in the heart of the Southern Padua hills, span eight hectares. The gardens are the work of the Barbarigo family, who were wealthy 17th century Venetian traders.     They are thought to have been created as a sign of gratitude to God for having spared the family from the plague in 1631. The design of the Valsanzibio gardens is attributed to Luigi Bernini, brother of the famous sculptor Bernini. The garden’s architecture is based on large boxwood hedges, and the place invites strollers on a spiritual journey.

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