La Citadelle

Gardens

The gardens of Aquitaine are much  more varied in style, scale, and presentation than the grand formal gardens of the châteaux of the Loire.  The Perigord has 1000 or more châteaux, few of them as large or grand as those of the Loire, and most of them in private ownership; this has encouraged much wider influence in their public parks and gardens than that of "traditional" French gardens.

Many of these gardens have been developed over the past hundred years, and incorporate many outside influences, with designers from right around the world. An example of this is Les jardins de l'imaginaire at Terrasson. Here, an American designer has produced a hillside linear garden designed to present many different concepts through snapshot views of different areas seen through gaps in the landscape.  These are tied together by large scale water features overlooking a magnificent natural landscape.

All parts of the region have many more locally-known gardens available to visit, but I want to introduce you to a few of the better-known ones, from Sardy (5 miles from La Citadelle) to as far as 2 hours away.

Les Jardins du Chateau de Vayres	This is a classic French-style garden on the banks of the Dordogne
Le Jardin Public, Bordeaux	This eighteenth century garden is noted for its terraces and porticoes, and its statues of noted people and events of significance to the city
Le Château de Malle	Italian-style gardens, peopled by sculpture
Oh! Legumes Oubliés!	This is a farm dedicated to preserving and presenting a huge range of vegetables and fruits no longer in presnt-day production
Le Moulin de la Souloire	A park in the style of Louisiana
Le Jardin de Lusseau	A garden of breathtaking colours built by a passionate designer
Le Jardin du Chateau de Hautefort	A quintessentially French Garden set in an English park with a sumptuous esplanade
Les Jardins de |l'Imaginaire	A hillside linear garden designed to support many different concepts through snapshot views of different areas seen through gaps in the landscape, all overlooking grand-scale natural landscape.
Le Manoir d'Eyrignac	A great mix of scales, perspectives, and influences - forever introducing brand-new concepts in garden design
Les Jardins de Cadiot	Ten different gardens, presented on three terraces
Les Jardins de Marqueyssac	Extraordinary mass of topiary hanging above the valley of the Dordogne
La Bambousseraie de Planbuisson	An æsthetic garden of bamboos and grasses
Les Jardins de Sardy	An English-designed garden on the crags and slopes overlooking the valley of the Dordogne
Les Jardins du Château de Montreal	A French garden with medieval and Italian influences at the former home of Josephine Baker
Le jardin de la Bourlie	Remarkable avenue of yew and a green room enclosing the medieval château
Pépinières Latour-Marliac	The greatest collection of water lilies in the whole world
Pépinières Latour-Marliac	The greatest collection of water lilies in the whole world
Gardens of the Dordogne (map)	select by location
Gardens of the Gironde (map)	select by location
Gardens of the Lot (map)	select by location

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