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It was around the magnificent Abbey, founded in the XIIth
century by Cistercian monks, that the Jardins de Valloires
were created, designed by the landscape gardener Gilles Clément
in 1987. You can see, covering an area of 9 hectares, 5 000
species and varieties of old roses and rare shrubs. Nestling
on a valley floor, the gardens follow the contours, with a
difference in height of over 25 metres between the highest
and lowest sections.
The appeal of these gardens, apart from their wealth of plants,
is their design. The plants and shrubs are classified according
to their decorative value and not by family, like in traditional
botanical gardens.
The gardens host events all year round: la journée
de la coccinelle (Ladybird Day), la journée des peintres
(Painters' Day) and la fête de la citrouille (Pumpkin
Festival). The shop sells collector's seeds and plants, and
also local specialities. Accommodation is available in the
Abbey's bed and breakfast.
The French Garden
The gardens are in keeping with their former design,
which can be seen in a plan of the Abbey, drafted in 1785:
• the garden cloister has been placed opposite the Abbey's
paved cloister
• the square beds recall those of Cistercian gardens
• the canal was created in memory of the diversion canal
from the Authie which use to cross the Abbey courtyard.
The central part is occupied by a very austere garden in
front of the west facade of the building. It is composed of
a rose garden with old varieties (2000 rose bushes in the
collection), together with "simples" (medicinal
plants, plants used for flavouring and vegetables) displayed
in 5x5m squares
The rose garden is particularly interesting for its design:
• range of varieties hardly ever seen in a standard
rose garden, only pastel colours, white and very pale pinks
being the dominant colours;
• combination of rose bushes and hardy perennials, offering
a longer-lasting appeal than rose bushes on their own;
• and, above all, the unusual, and very popular, vegetable
patches amongst the beds of roses.
It is at the heart of this rose garden that you will discover
the "Jardins de Valloires" rose specially created
for Valloires by the rose grower André Eve and christened
in 1992 by Catherine Deneuve, and also the "Rose des
cisterciens" created by Delbard and christened at Valloires
in 1998 for the 900th anniversary of the Cistercian Order.
The English Garden
It was designed to accommodate an outstanding collection
of 3000 species of plants collected by the nurseryman Jean-Louis
Cousin: mostly flowering shrubs from Asia and North America,
which he had introduced into Picardy.
On the edge of the English garden, an embankment, punctuated
crosswise by Osmanthus hedges, constitutes a sort of giant
step for accessing the "islands". This embankment
forms an enclosure for the white-flowering species, preserving
the simplicity of the central architecture of the garden.
An avenue of unusual flat-shaped "Mount Fuji" flowering
cherry trees, provides the transition between the regular
garden and the "islands" garden. It is a captivating
sight in the spring! The main body of the collection is assembled
here by themes echoed by the names of the islands: "soft
thorn island" for prickly shrubs, "winter island"
for trees with red, green, pink or white bark, "silver
island", "golden island", "purple island"
for plants with decorative foliage, "butterfly island",
"cherry blossom island"... There are no paths here
and you can walk on the lawns.
Marsh garden
In contrast to this undulating area there is a wet
low-lying area where aquatic plants are assembled around a
large ornamental lake: irises, alders, silver birches, willows,
poplars and a large collection of bamboos. This space is left
to grow wild and recalls the great marshes of the Baie de
Somme.
Garden of the 5 senses
The plants in this garden are classified according to the
senses of touch, sight, hearing, taste and smell. You can
try the many fruits growing there.
For the design of the garden of smell, the Jardins de Valloires
called upon Jean François Laporte, perfumer and master
glover in Paris, who is a plant and garden enthusiast.
The Lamarck garden
For the first time in
France, a garden tells the story of the history of plants
from the time they appeared on earth.
The tale of a rose…
"The Rose of Picardy ©", created by the David Austin nurseries
in 2004, a beautiful symbol of peace, testimony to the shared
history of France and England, and also the title of a famous
song. On sale in the Jardins de Valloires.
Practical info
Free access to :
La Table du Jardinier : restaurant and tearoom, an unusual
menu of dishes based on vegetables, flowers and fruit.
La Boutique : gifts, local and artisanal products, specialized
bookshop.
La Jardinerie (garden centre).
Access
75 km from Amiens, 200 km from Paris, A16 motorway exit N°24
towards (16 km from the Abbey) Boulogne, via N1 main road
in Vron towards Argoules.
Opening times
Every day :
- from 10/03 to 11/11 : from 10am to 6pm
Prices
Adults : 7.50 € (low season: 5.70 €)
Children (6-16): 4.50 € (low season: 3.70 €)
The Valloires Gardens
80120 ARGOULES
Tel : +33 (0)3 22 23 53 55 - Fax : +33 (0)3 22 23 91 32
E-mail : contact@jardinsdevalloires.com
Website : www.jardinsdevalloires.com
In the garden centre, you can buy hardy perennials, old roses
and rare shrubs as seen in the garden, as well as English
seeds, collector's bulbs and lots of gardening books. Don't
miss the local produce section, which has some interesting
items for sale: dandelion liqueur, salt-meadow lamb pâté,
rhubarb juice...
You can also join classes in gardening and garden cooking.
The
Valloires Abbey
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