About the garden
Owned by
Louise Hurstel
Enter into the magic of this garden and let yourself be charmed by the coloured and scented festival of the many varieties and species of trees, plants and flowers from all over the world. Your fairytale walk will be punctuated by waterfalls, buildings and invitations to travel and discover the talent of its fanciful designer, the great traveller and nature lover Gilles de Brissac.
The Parc Floral opened in 1976. Major works had been undertaken, a valley dammed to enable the water to flow in a succession of ornamental pools; pastures turned into lawns, flowerbeds, mixed borders and rare trees planted. A waterfall made with 650 tons of rocks was built in an unused quarry. Vita Sackville-West’s 'white garden' in Sissinghurst (England) was the inspiration for a border of shrubs and perennials with white flowers and silver leaves, at the entrance of the garden.
In spring, the long racemes of Chinese and Japanese wisteria form a scented archway leading to laburnums, clematis and pink acacias. The enchanting garden is decorated with follies, in the fashion of the second half of the 18th century. They were designed by painter and architect, Alexandre Sérébriakoff. The Pagoda Bridge with its fish-scale roof transports the visitor to China, the Turkish Pavilion and its decoration evoke the banks of the Bosphorus and the past splendours of the Ottoman Empire.
The Belvedere, the last of these follies to be built, dominates the river and the village roofs. Eight panels showing the Commedia dell’arte Pulchinelli puppets travelling around the world decorate its walls. They were created by the Montagnon faience factory in Nevers and took more than 10 years to complete.
