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The Chapel garden leads us to the neo-gothic chapel built in 1872. The path is flanked with cypress and white Iceberg roses. The elegance of the cypresses and the colour and abundance of the roses provide a frame for the fabulous architecture of the chapel.
The walls beside the entrance to the old cellars have been re-built and mark the foundations of the buildings destroyed in the C18th. The ancient walls create intimate courtyards leading down towards the cellars. The first cellar was no doubt restored in the C19th, the larger one is from the C15th. A ball garden decorates the old stonewalls.
The Kitchen garden is situated on the site of the ancient kitchens. Two ovens dating from the C15th are still visible. The destroyed north wall has been ‘rebuilt’ with a beech hedge in the form of an arched gallery. The four box-lined parterres of the Renaissance kitchen garden are planted in vegetables with a little tuff stone fountain at its heart.
The medicinal herb garden is situated on the site of a ruined part of the Renaissance château.
Situated to the right of the chapel is The White Garden, a symbol of purity uniting the Chapel and the ruins, planted in tones of white, green, grey and blue. The crossed paths are lined with box hedging. A “gloriette” covered with climbing roses, jasmine and clematis crowns the ensemble (note; a growing collection of Helleborus, Fritillaria, and some rare perennials.
The empty space behind the chapel was a natural setting in which to create an Amphitheatre. The stage is situated at the back of the chapel; the audience is seated on the lawn across the moat. The amphitheatre is planted with hornbeam hedging (Carpinus Betulus), and is decorated with arches in the C18th ‘Versailles’ style.
The grand vista traverses the property from the main entrance to the far eastern edge of the park, a distance of over 200 meters. It gives a formal dimension to the garden ensemble and echoes the classical C18th building. Its focal point is a ‘trompe l’oeil’ pagoda, created by Nicola de Bouillé.
The woodland. Upon leaving the amphitheatre we invite you to stroll along the banks of the moat in the C19th park.
Three new features in the gardens for 2003: The Italian garden, The Pagoda and a new cutting garden open to visitors on the other side of the moat, behind the amphitheatre.
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