Jean-Philippe Teyssier, landscape architect, takes us on a journey to discover the most beautiful gardens in France and Europe.
Gardens Near and Far episode 20: Located in North East of Italy, in the heart of Veneto, the garden of Padua is the oldest botanical garden in the world. Founded in 1545, it dates back to the origin of botanical science. With its plants from all over the world and its ancient trees from Asia, the garden of […]
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In the 17th century, William III of Orange and his wife Mary II acquired the estate of Het Loo, creating over 650 hectares of woodland and parkland, in an outstanding garden inspired by the French baroque gardens of the time. The flowerbeds are not merely decorative elements designed to attract the eye. They are also intended to be
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Gardens Near and Far episode 18 – MUSKAU: in 1811, Prince Hermann von Pückler, one of the leading 19th century landscape gardeners, decided to dedicate his life to creating the ideal estate, in which he experimented with new forms of landscape. Although he was very influenced by English gardens, Hermann Von Pückler moved away from them when designing
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Gardens Near and Far episode 17: a few kilometres from Paris, the Vallée aux Loups spans more than 60 hectares of isolated woodland. In the 19th century, it attracted prestigious gardeners and many artists. François-René de Chateaubriand stayed at the Vallée aux Loups for eleven years, infusing the estate with a romantic spirit. The rich and fertile lands
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Gardens Near and Far episode 16 – La Roche Guyon: Partly dug out in the chalk cliffs along a bend in the River Seine, the castle of La Roche Guyon overlooks an outstanding vegetable and fruit garden. Developed by Duke Alexandre de la Rochefoucauld in the early 18th century, this garden, which as well as being a place
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Gardens Near and Far episode 15 – Courances: Water is omnipresent in Courances, and it structures the landscape. The area’s trees give it a highly romantic character. The estate stretches over 75 hectares of gardens and 500 hectares of farmland. In the 16th century, the owner Côme Clausse installed a revolutionary hydraulic system there. Whereas many gardens remain
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Gardens Near and Far episode 14 – Freyr: designed in the style of André Le Nôtre in 1760 by Canon Guillaume de Beaufort-Spontin and enlarged by his brother Philippe in 1770, the gardens are set on walled terraces on the left bank of the Meuse. Freyr Castle and its timeless gardens stand in the heart of a natural site, in
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Gardens Near and Far episode 13 – Tête d’Or: opened in 1857 before the works were completed, the park was designed by the Bulher brothers, who came up with the smart idea of digging out a lake to sanitize the swampland. Haussmann was busy transforming Paris at the time, and Lyon did not want to be left behind.
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Gardens Near and Far episode 12 – Serre de la Madone: The discreet and elegant gardens of the Madonna’s Greenhouse are in the image of their creator, Major Johnston, an Englishman who was passionate about botany. A few kilometres away, Baroness Beatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild had her gardens landscaped into a place dedicated to worldly pleasures. These two gardens are
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The gardens of the palace of the Alcazar in Seville were built in the 9th century by a succession of monarchs, both Muslim and Christian, who created a place of rare beauty. Here Moor, Gothic and Renaissance influences blend. The gardens, located on the edge of the Guadalquivir river – which enabled river trade with the whole of
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Gardens Near and Far episode 10: In Munich, the “Englisher Garten” was designed a century before the other great urban gardens of Europe. In 1789 – while the French Revolution makes European courts tremble – Prince Charles-Theodore of Bavaria decided to offer his people a magnificent public garden. From the park’s opening, the prince had set up a
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Gardens Near and Far episode 9 – Dumbarton Oaks was designed in the 1920s by Beatrix Farrand, who pioneered landscape gardening in the USA. It comprises four hectares of gardens and eleven hectares of grounds and woodland, set in a wealthy neighbourhood on the heights of Washington DC. The estate was purchased in 1920 by the diplomat Robert
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