Garden visit: Bambouseraie in Anduze

The Gardener — Sun, 31 May 2009 16:45:11 +0000

Last week I visited a great bamboo garden in Southern France called the Bambouseraie. Just outside the pretty village of Anduze, this bamboo garden is located only 15 miles from Nimes in the French Languedoc Roussillon region and not too far from my French garden.

Bamboo Alley

The bamboo garden was designed in 1856 by Eugène Mazel who was a keen French botanist. It is a picturesque and mature garden which includes a comprehensive collection of bamboos but also many other oriental plants and trees of interest.

I followed the guide who provided useful information about the plants and trees in the park, and I learnt some interesting horticultural facts about bamboos. I shall always remember that bamboos shoots grow like piles of plates stacked upwards and growing at a speed of up to 1 meter a day.

All in all it comforted me in the opinion that some species of bamboos can be difficult to contain since they have a tendency to spread quickly whilst other smaller varieties can be used as bushes in order to provide handy green borders.

Feng Shui Garden

I also got to discover more interesting facts about other exotic plants. For instance on the Ginkgo biloba : called the tree of life and known for its medicinal properties; and apparently it does not suffer from disease or any parasites. It was the first plant to grow back following the Hiroshima nuclear bomb, and unlike many other plants was not mutated by the radiation.

Another point of interest is a Feng shui garden which was most delightful, tucked away in a lovely natural valley. It was very colourful and relaxing, containing red leaved Acer trees set against the multi-tinted green backdrop of bamboos.

Dandelion Art

I also enjoyed walking through the water garden as well as the 1860 Victorian greenhouse which includes temporary horticultural exhibitions (at the time of writing this post it included hundreds of Dandelion blossoms forming a inquisite a symmetric pattern which you can see in the picture).

The visit of the bamboo garden takes about 2 hours and if you are planning a trip there you may also take the opportunity to catch the steam train which gets you there and back from Anduze.

Garden diary visit: Castle Howard

The Gardener — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:10:51 +0000

As part of my interest in gardening I also enjoy visiting famous gardens. This weekend I sought to find some gardening inspiration in the grounds of Castle Howard which is located in North Yorkshire between York and Malton.

Castle Howard Fountain

Castle Howard is most famous for its walled garden including an ornamental vegetable garden, as well as for being the setting of the Brideshead revisited film.

To make the most of the walled garden I think that it is best to visit when the roses and delphiniums are in full bloom in July.

At this time of the year the visitor will appreciate the sense of grandeur expressed in the formal garden layout complete with its numerous temples, statues, lakes, fountain and wide expense of green woods.

I also recommend visiting the castle which despite a great fire in 1940 still has a lot to show about the lifestyle of the Howard family through the years. In particular I was impressed by the guides who were available in most rooms to provide interesting facts about the castle and gardens.

So if you are planning a trip up to North Yorkshire remember to take a little detour to the gardens of Castle Howard.

My Garden Diary » Gardens

Garden visit: Bambouseraie in Anduze

Garden diary visit: Castle Howard