Travel Stories: Chateau du Rivau, France Tour 2019
During the France tour I led last month, we visited the lovely Chateau du Rivau. It features a delightful garden plus we also got to tour part of the chateau as an added bonus.
The garden was created by Patricia Laigneau. We hoped to meet up with her during our visit but our schedules didn’t quite mesh. The garden is of contemporary design een though the chateau dates back to the 1400s.
About the garden
There are 14 gardens in all and I learned they don’t use any chemicals to maintain them. They include the Enchanted Forest, Lover’s Wood, Orchard of Paradise, the Secret Garden and the Rose Garden. They partner with David Austin roses for this. There are more than 450 varieties, all of which were chosen for their fragrance. The garden displays change throughout the seasons.
My new favorite rose!
Speaking of roses, I fell in love with the rose to the lower right. It is known as ‘Eden’ in the States. In France, it is called ‘Pierre de Ronsard’. We saw this rose at several gardens and I think it is absolutely stunning! Some of the younger blossoms have a pale greenish cast to them, which was so appealing.
All plants were labeled both in French and Latin. It might have been difficult to recognize some of the French words. But this illustrates how useful it can be to know the Latin names of plants. It truly is the universal language in the world of horticulture!
I hope you’ll enjoy looking at some of the photos I took. Note: if you look at the castle photo above, you’ll notice a fun mole sculpture in the foreground!)
To learn more about Chateau du Rivau, please visit their website. Also, I will have an additional post about Rivau on Friday (July 5). I want to show you some of the fun garden art they had, by using clay pots in a creative way.
The photo directly above is of another gorgeous rose I spotted. The nearby label said it was a Meilland rose called ‘Astronomia’. What a beauty.
Are you wondering what the flower combination is at the very top of this post? Those are Alliums and perennial Salvia, likely ‘May Night’. They sure look cool together, don’t they?
