Ornamental gardens of the French castle of villandry. Villandry castle and gardens

In this part, which I announced a few days ago, I will show you another castle of the Loire Valley. Considering my dislike of tourist attractions, crushed by millions of feet, it would be strange to expect that we will stop there. This is one of the most famous French castles, stories about it and its photographs are packed with tons of paper guides and terabytes on the Internet.

But I still included it in the route. There were several good reasons for this. And Villandry not only did not disappoint us, but also became a decoration of our vacation and route.

So what were the compelling reasons that prompted me to add Villandry to the route? What's so unique about it?

First, the gardens. I love all kinds of gardens and plants. I love tomatoes - sniff and eat; flowers - to smell, admire and photograph; regular gardens - to inspect, rustle pebbles underfoot on the paths and admire the grace of forms and the skill of the masters of topiary art; English parks - well, you get the idea ..

I am especially interested in parks and gardens, which are not just filled with plants, but created with some meaning, idea. The Villandry gardens are just such an amazing work of art. This is a picturesque canvas, and a theatrical stage, and a living embodiment of legends, in which plants play the main roles.

(photo from here)

Secondly, the history of the castle. But not that part of it, in which the crowned persons and the intrigues of the courtiers (which, by the way, were never there), but the period of restoration, reconstruction, - in fact, the story of one family who devoted their whole life to the revival, recreation of this castle and its gardens ... And they did it with incredible scrupulousness and love, with careful and deep penetration into the essence, into the idea and design.

Well finally , this castle was radically different from the chamber and delicate, like a lady's box, Aze-le-Rideau, which we have already visited (if suddenly someone did not read it).

Generally speaking, the Loire Castles is a separate tourist attraction offered by any travel agency. I did not want to join the general tourist carousel stream, so for the vacation program I selected several castles that would be as different from each other as possible. In the end, although they were turned into a lollipop licked to a gloss, into an emasculated set, they still have real story real people, a series of times, feelings, emotions and events.

So why is Villandry unique? Well, first of all, it is not a royal residence, and not even a gift to some courtesan or favorite. The first owner was Jean Le Breton - Minister of Finance under Francis I.

Once there was a feudal fortress, in the dungeon of which on July 4, 1189, a peace treaty was signed between King Henry II Plantagenet, who had admitted defeat, and King Philip Augustus of France. Exactly two days after this, Henry II died.

And it was on the ruins of this fortress that Jean Le Breton began construction in 1532. He was fond of architecture, had an excellent taste, and as a result, Villandry turned out to be harmonious, graceful, perfectly fit into the landscape and rather laconic, devoid of so fashionable at that time turrets, conical roofs and other "fancy".

Part of the keep, where the famous document was signed, by the way, remained. This architectural element, like the battlements on the upper part of the wall, recalls the historical purpose of the predecessor fortress of Villandry.

Jean Le Breton was ambassador to Rome, where he became interested in architecture, studied the art of arranging gardens with interest. And then he applied all this with taste and great success in Villandry. However, the subsequent owners for many decades did not care much about the preservation of this beauty. And by the beginning of the 20th century, when Joachim Carvallo came to inspect it, the castle, due to the changes made and the added windows, looked more like a barracks, and there was no trace of the garden.

Joachim Carvallo at that time was a promising scientist, a physician who, being a favorite student of the laureate Carl Richet Nobel Prize, under his leadership he was engaged in research in the field of physiology of digestion. But he gave up a promising career, bought Villandry and, together with his wife Anne Coleman, an American from a wealthy family of industrialists, set about recreating the original appearance of the castle.

(photo from here)

He delved deep into historical documents, looked for eyewitness accounts, conducted entire research, supervised the work of masons and gardeners, and in the end he succeeded incredibly! Several interactive structures are now installed in the garden, allowing all visitors, using the footage of the chronicle, to get an idea of the amount of work that Mr. Carvallo had to do.

In 1924 he founded the "Historical House" society, which united all the owners of such real estate. And it was he who initiated the idea to open these castles to the public. It opened Villandry to visitors in 1920. Now his work is continued by his great-grandson Henri Carvallo.

We started our inspection with the interiors. There is something to see. Genuine household items, furniture, beautiful parquet flooring, a great collection of paintings. And, of course, beautiful views from the windows overlooking the garden and vegetable garden.

And my favorite topic is the kitchen! Copper, shiny sides of pots and pans, paths trodden over centuries on a stone floor, a stove, a slight aroma of smoked prunes and dumpy chairs - all my favorite, yes.

Nursery with a cradle.

Bedroom with windows overlooking the vegetable garden.

Children's bedroom with a row of books on the shelf, toys and a cozy bed.

AND game room with a huge dollhouse in the form of Villandry himself and a glove puppet theater.

Another treasure is the ceiling in the East Living Room. It was brought here by Carvallo in 1905. This ceiling was part of the Count's Palace of Makeda, built in the 15th century in Toledo. The palace was dismantled, and three of its four Moorish wooden, inlaid ceilings are now in Madrid in the National Archaeological Museum, and the fourth, thanks to Mr. Carvallo, can be seen by all visitors to Villandry. This is just a masterpiece! Incredibly delicate, complex work, giving rise to a fantastic play of volumes, color and light. Very nice!

And flowers everywhere! In each room there are several vases filled with fresh, fragrant, fragrant, cut here in the garden, bouquets.

The Villandry Gardens are unique. I didn’t make a reservation - it’s the gardens. Because this is not one garden, but a whole complex of different gardens. Apothecary garden with herbs and medicines, Ornamental garden, Love garden, Music garden, Water garden, Sun garden, created recently. They are all full of symbolism, each has its own philosophy and legend. You can and should walk along them for hours, enjoying and finding something amazing and beautiful at every step.

The Garden of Love, consisting of "pictograms" in which Passionate Love, Windy Love, Tragic Love are encrypted.

The Garden-Vegetable Garden was created in the image and likeness of the monastery "vegetable garden" gardens. Here, all the ornaments are composed of vegetables, herbs, herbs selected according to the color. The garden is planted with vegetables twice a year. Each year, the exposition changes in accordance with considerations of harmony, preservation of soil fertility and chemical-free farming. Forty types of vegetables and herbs are planted here each season, irrigated by an automatic system located below the surface of the earth.

Different views of the garden and different rooms of the castle offer different views of the garden from different points of the garden, each of which is incredibly beautiful.

There is also a small shop where you can buy seeds and seedlings of everything that is grown in the Villandry gardens.

I could not resist and brought from there a wonderful souvenir - sets of seeds. This year, due to any unpleasant events, it was not possible to sow them, but they have a long shelf life - next year I will still have time to test them. If you are not ashamed to show the result, I will definitely demonstrate it to you, do not hesitate!

In the meantime, they lie and remind that dreams and hard work can give a bountiful harvest of joy and beauty that people can enjoy for many, many generations to come.

Villandry Castle (Château de Villandry) was built under King Francis I, by Prime Minister Jean Le Breton. It was erected on the former foundation of an ancient feudal fortress of the 11th century. Only the donjon tower in the southwestern part has survived from it. The Breton family came from Scotland. The Prime Minister decided to build a new type of castle, unlike the gloomy medieval fortresses. The castle was completed in 1536. It […]

Built under the king Francis I, prime minister Jean Le Breton... It was erected on the former foundation of an ancient feudal fortress of the 11th century. Only the donjon tower in the southwestern part has survived from it.

The Breton family came from Scotland. The Prime Minister decided to build a new type of castle, unlike the gloomy medieval fortresses. The castle was completed in 1536. It was a U-shaped building with a courtyard facing the shore. Loire... Its two wings were created in the image of the palaces of the Renaissance of the 16th century. Their facades with large windows were decorated with friezes, stucco ornaments, pilasters and capitals. The wings of the building, slightly uneven in length, were lined up at different angles and asymmetrical. Galleries were located on both sides of the courtyard.

The next owner of the castle was Marquis de Castellane... During his tenure, balconies and additional decorations on the facade were added to the appearance of the building. Outbuildings were made on both sides of the front yard; The new owner ordered a part of the territory to be separated by a wall and placed there the kitchen and utility rooms.

The castle began to decay and collapse little by little. Although its appearance, with mansards, steep roofs and cruciform frames, was still harmonious, some architectural elements have not survived. The gallery of the lower level was closed, round towers with conical roofs were destroyed.

In this form, Villandry existed until 1906 - until that time until he acquired it Dr. Joachim Carvallo... He decided to save the castle from destruction, completely recreate the ancient architecture and lay out gardens. (Earlier, back in the 16th century, a garden was already created here, designed by Androix du Cerso).

Joachim Carvalho and his wife collected a collection of paintings by Spanish painters of the 17th century. To this day, Villandry Castle keeps about fifty of these paintings.

A remarkable element of the decoration is the Arabian ceiling in the Mudejar style by the Moorish masters from the estate of the princes de Makeda. This ceiling, disassembled into 3600 pieces, was brought to Villandry from Toledo. It took a year to put this clever "mosaic" together. An interesting fireplace with a gilded chimney in the shape of a palm tree in the dining room on the lower floor. Dr. Carvalho took great care of the decoration of the castle, restoring the heraldic symbols of the previous owners, floral ornaments and stucco decorations-shells.

Is a separate attraction in Villandry. The total length of hedges is about 52 km. Every year 250 thousand different seedlings are planted here. Plants are selected in such a way that their flowering periods alternate in stages.

The Villandry Gardens are spread over several levels. The upper level opens Garden of the Sun... It consists of three decorative zones: the "room of clouds" - with plants blooming in white and blue; "Sunny room" in orange and yellow tones; "Children's room" - a playground under the apple trees.

Also in the upper level is Garden of Water (Jardin d'eau)... It is placed around a large pond in the shape of an oval mirror. Rare species of aquatic flora grow in the pond. The fountains next to it resemble royal lilies.

In the second level Regular garden there are three sites: the Garden of Medicinal Herbs, the Garden of Music and the famous Garden of Love.

As conceived by the creator, the site Garden of Love (Jardin d'amour) They represent four types of feelings: gentle, fickle, passionate and tragic. The belonging of the garden massifs to these allegorical images is emphasized by the forms of hedges and different shades of flowering plants. Hearts and fans, tongues of flame and ballroom masks-dominoes, sword blades and intricate labyrinths are guessed in the lines of delicately trimmed bushes. All these intricate figures are perfectly visible from the castle tower. It is imperative to climb it to see the Garden of Love in all its blooming splendor.

The lowest level is occupied by vegetable garden (Рotager)... It is divided into square beds with vegetables. Even in the coloring of these beds, a certain color algorithm is maintained. They form a "chessboard", the cells of which are separated by avenues of fruit trees. The colorful landscape is decorated with fountains and numerous rose bushes. Although the vegetable garden is considered decorative, planting in it is carried out in accordance with all agrotechnical rules.

Villandry Castle is located in the Loire Valley southwest of Tours. During the Roman Empire on the site of the Villandry castle there was a Gallo-Roman villa "Villa Andriaca", hence it comes current name... At the time of the Mirovingians, there was a settlement on this place, and later, around 1000, a castle was built. It gets the name Colombiers (French dovecote). The castle originally consisted of a square tower - donjon, later enclosed by a fortress wall.

The Colombiers castle was the seat of the chatellenie of Le Château de Tours. The first famous signor in history Colombiers was Geoffroy le Roux, in 1080 he married his daughter Lisoye to Hugues d "Amboise.

The history of Colombiers Castle is inextricably linked with King Henry II of England.

The last three years of the king's life were spent in the struggle with the King of France Philip Augustus, and his heir Richard the Lionheart acted as an ally, and sometimes as an opponent of his father.

In February 1187, Philip invaded Berry and occupied Isoudun Castle. Richard stepped forward to meet him, and they met at Chateauroux. Philip offered peace and, with the help of the papal legate, a truce was concluded for two years.

At the beginning of 1188, the English and French kings met again and decided to go together to crusade... But in the middle of the year, after a quarrel between father and son, the war resumed again, between Henry and Richard.

On November 18, 1188, Henry, Richard, and Philip met at Bowlen. Philip demanded that Richard be married to Alice, daughter of Louis VII, and that the English barons should recognize him as Henry's heir. After Henry refused, Richard swore allegiance to Philip for Aquitaine, Anjou, Normandy, Berry and the lands that he occupied in Toulouse. Philip took an oath of vassal. The truce lasted until Easter 1189. By this time, Henry was already suffering from bleeding ulcers.

As a result of the new meeting of the kings at La Ferte-Bernard in 1189, no results were achieved during the discussion. Shortly thereafter, Philip and Richard launched a surprise attack. Henry was caught off guard at Le Mans and retreated north to Alençon, from where he could have escaped safely in Normandy. Suddenly, however, Henry turned south towards Anjou, the weather was very hot, the king was getting worse and worse. Heinrich dodged the enemy on his way south and headed for Chinon Castle. Philip and Richard realized that Henry was dying and that Richard would be the next king, and they proposed negotiations. The three of them met at the Colombiers castle, by this time Heinrich was completely weak and was no longer able to sit on a horse. On July 4, 1189, a peace was made at Colombiers (Paix de Colombiers), according to which he recognized Richard as his heir, promised to marry Alice to him, undertook to pay compensation to Philip in the amount of 20 thousand marks and give him the key castles of Touraine as a guarantee.

Henry was transported to Chinon Castle on a stretcher, where he died on July 6, 1189. He was buried at the Abbey of Fontevraud.

In the second half of the fourteenth century, the castle of Colombiers, as a result of marriage, passed into the possession of the family de Craon, Vicomtes de Châteaudun.

On March 4, 1532, the castle was acquired by Jean Le Breton, Secretary of State to King Francis I of France. He destroyed most of the old fortress, and in its place in 1536 the construction of a new Renaissance castle began. La Tour Carrée tower is the only remnant ancient fortress... Jean Le Breton supervised the construction of the Château de Chambord. King Francis repeatedly visited the Colombiers castle at the invitation of Jean Le Breton.

In 1619, the Signoria de Colombiers became a marquisate (possession of the marquis) for Balthasar Le Breton, and then in 1639 the castle and the surrounding area changed its name to Villandry. Balthazar was awarded the title of "Marquis de Villandry". Finally, in 1758, the marquisate becomes the property of Michel Ange de Castellane, the new owner of the castle. He decided to change its appearance in accordance with the trends of the times: the windows of the castle were decorated with arches in the Italian style and balconies were added, and walls were erected in place of the colonnades of the first floor to equip kitchens and utility rooms.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the castle belonged to Napoleon's younger brother, Prince Jerome. In 1856 Villandry was badly damaged by the floods of the Loire-et-Cher. Subsequently, the castle passed to the Engerlo family.

In 1906, the castle was acquired by Dr. Joaquim Carvalho, a great art lover. He decided to return the castle of Villandry to its original appearance. In Villandry, the arcades were rebuilt and the windows were restored to their original appearance, as well as the gardens were recreated. The restoration work did not affect the southern facade and the interior of the castle. The castle is currently owned by Henri Carvalho, the great-grandson of Joaquim Carvalho.

Let's start with garden locations
It is located at the Castle of Villandry in the picturesque Loire Valley in France. For your information, along this river and its tributaries on a rectangular section of two hundred by one hundred kilometers, a huge number of country castles are concentrated (according to the reference books, I counted more than 70 open to the public) and all with beautiful varied gardens.

A bit of history , without which the paradox of the Villandry gardens is not understandable. In 1189. Villandry was a fortified fortress, in 1532. the new owner Jean Le Breton destroyed the fortress, leaving one tower, to which he added an elegant U-shaped Renaissance castle. The castle, partly surrounded by a moat, was decorated with huge gardens spread over three different levels. Le Breton, who served as Ambassador Francis I to Italy, had a chance to see many gardens designed by famous masters of the Italian Renaissance, which were characterized by strict geometric lines and a pronounced architectural solution... These Italian gardens were the basic model for the Villandry gardens.

In 1754, the castle became the property of the Marquis de Castellane, who reconstructed its facades in the spirit of his era and arranged new pseudo-natural gardens in the romantic taste of Rousseau. Today's delightful terraces have disappeared beneath artificial hills and valleys with paths winding between hills and dense "picturesque" forests. The castle and gardens retained this look until 1906, when the Spaniard Joachim Carvallo (grandfather of the current owner), a doctor and a great fan of the arts, decided to return the castle and gardens to their original appearance. He restored the Renaissance gardens according to the engravings by Jacques Androuet du Cerso, published 1576-79.

And now, briefly, the paradox itself: on French soil, according to the Italian model, gardens were built, which were then replaced by a landscape park, and only thanks to the Spaniard we have the opportunity today to admire these French gardens reconstructed in the style of the Middle Ages.

Villandry Gardens today
In fact, in my opinion, there are several gardens, each of them is individual and at the same time all together they make up a single composition. The best idea of the general composition of the gardens is given by the schemes and bird's-eye views.

The gardens are spread over three stepped levels for theatrical effects. All terraces are connected by graceful bridges, ramps and stairs. Upper terrace located on the third floor of the castle. The middle terrace lies on the same level with the halls of the lower floor, while the lower terrace is separated from the castle by a canal and is occupied by a vegetable garden, which, by the way, is most often shown to us. The Villandry Gardens, like the Renaissance architecture of French castles, combine two traditions: on the one hand - the Gothic, with flowers, medicinal and food herbs, the best examples of which are presented in monasteries or estates, and, on the other hand, the Italian tradition, more architectonic.

The general pattern of the gardens is asymmetrical, but a single "scale grid" is clearly traced, to which the layouts of all parts of this beautiful garden complex are subordinated. (How can you not recall the recommendations of John Brooks). Note that what appears to be an elegant pattern of squares is in fact composed of artfully connected trapezoids and rhombuses.

On upper L-shaped terrace there is an unfinished Garden of Water in the style of Louis XV, laid out around a pond in the form of a mirror. Large mirror water is framed by a composition of lawns, paths, clipped bushes and four symmetrically arranged round small ponds. This garden is located as if in a courtyard formed by linden alleys. Water is taken from the pond for irrigation and fountains. On one side of the terrace, the adjoining of a tall forest is decoratively played.

Ornamental garden of the middle U-shaped terrace with its exquisite forms it resembles "gardens of love". Such gardens rose above utilitarian or decorative functions - to the level of poetry and even philosophy, expressing the refined symbolism of love, earthly and mystical. This garden, exemplary in this sense, brings to mind the plots of tapestries, paintings and poems. The regular garden is divided into three themed areas: the garden of love, the garden of music and the garden of medicinal herbs. Flowers and grasses are planted among short-cut shrubs that form a complex ornament.

Four large squares are decorated with shrubs, planted in the form of figures - an allegory of love. The northwestern massif depicts hearts pierced with an arrow - a symbol of love-passion, while the northeastern one represents fans, horns, love notes - symbols of love-adultery, yellow flowers prevail in it. In the southwest - love-tenderness with hearts separated by tongues of flame and masks worn at balls; the last, southeastern, massif represents tragic love with sword blades and dueling blood red. At the southern end of the garden are three large diamond-shaped massifs with the Languedoc Cross, the Malta Cross and the Basque Country Cross.

On the middle terrace, on the other side of the moat, there is a music garden and a recreated labyrinth. Huge carps and white swans swim in the moat, which visitors are happy to feed, however, this is typical for many castles in France.

Skirting the garden, at the same middle level is the medicinal plant garden (Aptekarskiy Sad), a must-have for any project that recreates Renaissance gardens. This garden includes only plants used exclusively for the manufacture of medicinal products, condiments, perfumes and ointments.

Spread out below garden of the lower "square" terrace ; behind it, the perspective of the village opens with the bell tower of the Romanesque church. This is perhaps the most unusual part of the garden ensemble with large multicolored parterres made up of vegetables and fruit trees.

Cabbage, carrots, beets, lettuce, tomatoes, pumpkins and other various plants are planted in 9 squares with various geometric patterns; vegetable plantings are interspersed with apple and pear trees, the branches of which form trellises of alleys, standard roses and vases of flowers. The beds of strict geometric shapes are framed with a neat boxwood border, which serves as a kind of green frame for "vegetable still lifes", which are edible and decorative at the same time.

At the intersection of the avenues of this garden, around the central square, there are 4 small symmetrical areas, each of which has a fountain in the center and a framing of 4 pavilions in the corners. Fountains, originally intended for irrigation, add to the beauty of this green landscape.

Villandry Castle
I will not talk about the castle in detail. I can only say that in all historically preserved interiors there are bouquets of flowers, and a composition of vegetables is presented in the kitchen. Of course, everything is grown in the castle garden. This is how the garden enters the castle. And of course the views from the windows to the garden continue and enrich the interiors. A stunning sight opens from the upper observation deck, located on the oldest tower of the castle.

Maintenance of gardens
A team of 10 gardeners (not counting their assistants) is constantly working on the lands of Villandry, as this true work of art needs constant attention. The gardens are planted with 1260 lindens, 52 km of hedges, 900 fruit trees, all in need of constant maintenance and cutting. They are complemented by an annual 200 thousand flowers and vegetable plantings for two flowering seasons - spring and summer. The area of the "blossoming garden" is 12,500 sq.m. Careful development of planting plans is based not only on the aesthetic harmony of shape and color, but also on a horticultural 3-year crop rotation system (in one place annual plants change annually). The Villandry Gardens require strict organization and professionalism - the price for beauty.

Ripe vegetables and fruits are stacked in the utility building adjacent to the orchard, and visitors are treated to them, leaving a fee for the gardeners at their discretion. The fruits and vegetables of this garden are organic (which is constantly emphasized by the guide) and very juicy and tasty.

In a separate building at the entrance there are shops where you can buy not only souvenirs and books, but also seeds, seedlings and decorative elements of the garden.

It is worth seeing and unraveling this "museum of gardens" in order to understand the significance that the gardens in front of the castle walls had, which continued the interiors and stretched out into the fields and forests. And it was also worth writing this article, now I know that I have not considered everything, and if I manage to visit these gardens again, then I will lay my route through the gardens in a completely different way.

References:
1. Simon D'Uart, Martin Tissier de Malleré, Jean Saint-Brie, Henri de Linares, Daniel Oster, Monique Jacob, Francois Bonneau, Maurizio Martinelli, Gianni Daglia Orti "Loire Castles"
2. "Castles of the Loire" Publishing House Valoir-Estelle with the participation of P. Viard and R. Niko
3. Villandry. Connaissance des arts.
4. Villandry. Tour of the gardens

Text and photo: S. Tatiana ()
12.2005

The graceful Renaissance castle of Villandry rises near the Loire, not far from the building that stood here in ancient times. On July 4, 1189, when Villandry was a fortified fortress, Philip Augustus, King of France, met here with Henry II Plantagenet, King of England. The conversation between the two sovereigns took place in the medieval southwest tower and ended with the signing of a peace agreement at Azay-le-Rideau in favor of Philippe-Augustus.

Several centuries later, ownership passed to Jean Le Breton, Secretary of State of Francis I, who was entrusted with the supervision of the construction of the castles of Fontainebleau and Chambord. Jean Le Breton, whose ancestors were from Scotland, decided to build his own castle, which would have an elegant, festive look, different from the harsh appearance medieval fortresses... He razed to the ground the most ancient buildings, with the exception of the keep, and, starting in 1536, began construction of a new U-shaped building in relation to the ceremonial courtyard overlooking the Loire. The two large wings are typical of Renaissance and are modeled on palaces that were erected at the beginning of the 16th century. Their facades are cut through by large windows, framed by pilasters with capitals of the classical order, and decorated with friezes and large lucarnes with volutes and tympanes.

The wide facades are given a slight asymmetry (in the lines of the windows, in their length and in the direction of the wings); arched galleries run on both sides of the courtyard.

The castle, partly surrounded by a moat, was decorated with huge gardens spread over three different levels. Le Breton, who served as Ambassador Francis I to Italy, had a chance to see many gardens designed by the famous masters of the Italian Renaissance, gardens that organically merged with the architecture of buildings, which served as an accompaniment to them. These Italian gardens were characterized by strict geometric lines and a pronounced architectonic solution. Founded according to the Italian model, the French gardens occupy, however, large areas, make the fortress walls unnecessary and, as it were, reduce the external volumes of buildings. Their wide alleys are lined with flowering parterres, the outlines of which are emphasized by a hedge of trimmed bushes.

The ornamental garden of the middle terrace is reminiscent of the "gardens of love" with its exquisite shapes. Indeed, four large squares are decorated with shrubs planted in the form of figures - allegories of love. The northwestern massif depicts hearts pierced with an arrow - a symbol of love-passion, while the northeastern one represents fans, horns, love notes - symbols of love-adultery, yellow flowers prevail in it. In the southwest - love-tenderness with hearts separated by tongues of flame and masks worn at balls; the last, southeastern, massif represents tragic love with sword blades and dueling blood red.

At the southern end of the garden are three large diamond-shaped massifs with the Languedoc Cross, the Malta Cross and the Basque Country Cross. On the other side of the ditch, there is a vegetable garden below; behind it, the perspective of the village opens with the bell tower of the Romanesque church. This may be the most unusual part of the garden ensemble, with large multi-colored parterres made up of vegetables and fruit trees. This layout dates back to ancient times. In the 16th century, the first botanical gardens, in which rare plants originating from the countries of America were grown, unknown until then. Plants were placed in ornamental gardens, where their development and acclimatization were monitored.

Villandry. Castles of France The Villandry garden-garden follows this old tradition. It was restored thanks to the efforts of Dr. Joachim Carvallo, who redesigned the old gardens at the beginning of this century, inspired by the drawings of Andrue Dyceseau. Cabbage, carrots, beets, lettuce are planted in the squares; vegetable plantings are interspersed with apple and pear trees, the branches of which form trellises of alleys. Fountains, originally intended for irrigation, add to the beauty of this green landscape.

In 1574, the castle belonged to the Marquis de Castellane, who reconstructed it in the spirit of his era: the windows received arched frames, balconies were added, on the lower floor the colonnade of the courtyard was closed with a wall in order to accommodate kitchens and new corridors. The service rooms, located on the north side of the castle, protect the gardens from the cold winds. The castle retained this appearance until 1906, when Dr. Carvallo, a doctor and a great fan of the arts, decided to return the castle to its original appearance. Carvallo became the head of the Association that united the owners historical monuments, which allowed many castles and palaces to be opened to the general public.