France June 2016 - Villandry
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About to enter Chateau de Villandry, reknowned for its magnificent gardens.
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Villandry was built in 1536 by Jean Le Breton, Minister of Finance for Francois 1st. A medieval castle was here prior to the chateau but it was razed, sparing only the Keep.
"Having just endured the Hundred Years War, you, like the early Renaissance Kings of France -- Charles VIII, Louis XII, and Francis I -- are ready to think of comfort, pleasure, and gardens. ... When these three Kings of France went off to conquer Italy, they were conquered instead by the Renaissance, which had been taking place during all those dismal years France was being consumed by internal wars and plagues. Among the first captives the kings brought back to France were Italian landscape designers, who would create formal gardens of harmony and symmetry at their royal residences (at Amboise and Blois) similar to those surrounding the lavish palaces of the Italian princes. Although these royal gardens no longer exist, the gardens here at Villandry are said to be faithful reproductions of gardens created during the first part of the 16th century in France.
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About to head into the chateau.
In 1754, the Marquis de Castellane puchased the chateau and had it redeisgned to meet 18th century standards of comfort.
In 1906, the chateau was bought by Joachim Carvallo, the great-grandfather of the present owner. The careful reconstruction of what the orginal garden might have been is the result of three generations of passionate dedication.
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| The rooms and furniture are 18th century style. |
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Beautiful rooms. Louis XV panelling.
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| But it is the gardens that set Villandry apart. This is the Ornamental Garden section. |
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| A good look at the Vegetable Garden. |
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More of the Renaissance kitchen garden, with the village church in the background. Between the kitchen garden and the church is the herb garden, devoted to aromatic, cooking and medicinal herbs. The building to the right is called the farmyard.
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| We climbed to the top of the Keep where the view is pretty good. Looking north. The Cher and the Loire rivers, running in parallel, are in those woods somewhere running left to right. |
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| The view of the garden from the Keep. |
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| The Garden even has it's own man-made river running through it. |
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The garden has approximately 85,000 plants -- half of which come from the family greenhouse -- and are replanted twice a year by 10 full-time gardeners.
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| Lynnette on top of the Keep. |
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The Villandry Garden was one of the highlights of the entire trip for Lynnette.
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| We headed out into the Garden. |
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| The Water Garden. As Rick Steves says, the place is as manicured as a putting green. |
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| Complete with White Swans. |
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A great shot of the Keep with the Ornamental garden in the foreground.
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| Hanging vineyards. |
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| Very nice. |
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