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Michel Racine has written the definitive text on gardens in France. Warning, it is in French. He covers over 700 public gardens and this last revision includes over 200 where improvements or changes have been made.

FAQs

§ Best of French Gardens

§ La Rose, La Reine

§ Dahlias in France

Best of French Gardens

Q. Please list the gardens in your program

A. They are:

§ Vaux le Vicomte, Melun. Outside and to the southwest of Paris

§ Monet’s Garden at Giverny

§ Bois des Moutiers or Parc Floral des Moutiers, Varengeville-sur-mer, just west of Dieppe

§ Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire, Festival International des Jardins, near Blois

§ Parc Floral Orleans de la Source, near Orleans

§ Open markets, in Paris and Versailles

§ Potager du Roi, Versailles

§ Villandry, near Tours

Q: What is the purple plant in the potager at Parc Floral Orleans de la Source?

A. I think it is some kind of a cole variety, maybe a kale. I have sent off a question to the garden to see if they can help identify it.

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La Rose, La Reine

Q. Please list the gardens in your program

A. They are:

§ Malmaison

§ L’Hay les Roses

§ Bagatelle in the Bois de Boulongne

Bonus Section

§ Le Jardin des Plantes, Paris

§ Parc Floral de la Collines aux Oiseaux, Caen

Q. Are there rose gardens like these in Great Britain ? How do they compare?

A. I don’t have direct experience with rose gardens in Great Britain so I’ve asked the question of some friends who live there or who have visited. The opinion, so far, is that there is nothing in Great Britain that would directly compare to either L’Hay or Bagatelle in terms of historic, formal design or the pure number and breadth of rose varieties that seen in one garden. According to what I’ve been told, roses in Great Britain are more likely to be used as shrubs in mixed plantings and there are some gardens that use old roses very effectively this way; the estates of Hidecote and Kiftsgate were mentioned. Other candidates for a visit would be the demo gardens of Peter Beal and David Austin, as well as the Garden of the Rose in Hertfordshire, the home of the Royal National Rose Society.

Q. What is the name of the blue flower that’s used to border the dahlia beds at Caen?

A. With credits to Ms. Bouve and the staff at the garden who answered my e-mail, the plant is Verbena rigida cv. Rugosa.

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Dahlias in France

Q. Please list the gardens in your program

A. They are:

§ Jardin des Plantes, Paris

§ Parc Floral de la Collines aux Oiseaux, Caen

§ Villandry, near Tours

§ Parc Floral Orleans de la Source, near Orleans

§ Crevant: http://sddelorm.free.fr/potager/dahlias/dahlia.htm (in French)

Q. Other dahlia resources or suggestions for people who want to learn more?

A. Here are a few:

§ The American Dahlia Society: http://www.dahlia.org
(Most of the following, and much more can be found at the ADS site)

§ Wayne Holland’s web site (with thanks for picture use)
http://www.members.shaw.ca/hydahlia

§ Dahlia France: http://dahliafrance.free.fr (in French)

§ I have also seen old references to dahlias at Parc Floral de Paris (Vincennes) but I couldn’t find any that were recent or even directions. Correspondence with a US grower would indicate that there is still an annual dahlia competition in progress but I’m still looking for details.

§ I also know that dahlia growers are being invited to send tubers to Chalons-en-Champagne for a cut flower dahlia show on September 24, 25, and 26, 2004. Stand by for details.

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