Monday 5 March 2012

Preparing for Spring

The gardens at Chenonceau are magnificent, with meticulously maintained formal gardens dedicated to Diane de Poitiers on one side and Catherine de Medici on the other. In mid autumn the gardeners thoughts turn to the next spring. Bulbs are ordered and bedding plants planned. The summer planting is pulled out and the planting for spring begun. By April these beds will be full of colour.

Making sure the edges are just so.
Every year 130 000 bedding plants are used in Catherine de Medici's garden alone, and the planting scheme changed twice yearly around the structural planting of standard pink roses and clipped lavender and box. All of the plants used are raised on in the chateau grounds, and we can visit the working gardens which supply seedlings for the flower beds, vegetables for the restaurant and flowers for the fabulous arrangements in each room of the chateau, as well as the gorgeous ornamental gardens and landscaped grounds.

If you love gardens and would like to combine gardens, history and art in a tour, email us and we will arrange a tour that will delight you. Don't forget, if you book and pay for your 2012 tour before the end of May you receive a 10% discount.