Plan a great garden getaway
Planning a holiday? If your travels take you to the Loire Valley, don’t forget that selected parks and gardens in this beautiful region offer free entry to RHS members – check the RHS Members' Handbook for details. Here are three ideas for your itinerary:
La Chatonnière
Hidden away in a secluded valley lay the terraced gardens of La Chatonnière, described as ‘a gift for the eyes’. There are 12 themed gardens to explore, from the Garden of France (above) with its breathtaking ocean of wild flowering poppies and cornflowers to the more contemplative Vale of Elegance, decorated with Italian statues and ancient urns.
The gardens are well known for their roses – some 5,000 in all – which lend heady fragrance and colour to the Gardens of Fragrance, Romance and Intelligence. Another remarkable feature is the Garden of Abundance, a vegetable garden created in the shape of a giant leaf; with plantings of ornamental cabbages, aubergines, and red chard dividing the leaf into vibrant segments.
For more scent, explore the Garden of Sciences, laid out in a chessboard pattern. This sweet-smelling garden is packed with medicinal plants, from rosemary, sage and thyme to artemisia, verbena and liquorice.
Free member access applies throughout open period
Les Jardins de Drulon
Les Jardins de Drulon is an unconventional and exuberant garden housing contemporary art installations and sculptures. The 17ha gardens are full of colour and intrigue from the first days of spring to the first frosts of autumn.
Begin your visit in the fragrant, generously-planted Flower Garden, arranged around a fountain basin. Each bed is sorted by colour, so you can follow the spectrum as you walk – cooler colours give way to pastel, then hot tones. The Chamber Garden acts as an open air museum – groves of trees and shrubs divide the area into nine ‘rooms’, each with its own artwork and individual atmosphere.
In the soft, filtered light of the Wild Garden you will find a series of ponds and a fern valley, or discover the abundant Bacchus Garden, filled with grape vines and an orchard of apples, pears and cherries. The Paean Garden is a delight with its collection of 300 cultivars of Chinese shrubby and herbaceous peonies, followed by daylilies, highly perfumed roses, dahlias and hibiscus.
Free member access applies June and September
Parc & Château de Beauregard
The Renaissance Parc & Château de Beauregard is well worth visiting for its intriguing Garden of Portraits. Designed by landscape architect Gilles Clément, the 5000m2 contemporary garden is laid out to echo the chateau’s Galerie des Illustres (Gallery of Famous Men). The garden consists of 12 small ‘rooms’, in which carefully chosen shrubs and perennials have been arranged by foliage and flower colour. The result is a series of monochrome ‘pictures’ that provide interest from May to October. Clematis and some 400 old rose cultivars have been planted around the perimeter of each ‘room’ to add further colour and beauty from May to July. Although modern in style, the garden was designed to evoke the species, colours and symbols used throughout three centuries of garden making on the estate.
Free member access applies in May and June