Sunday, 1 December 2013

Le Jardin de la Mothe

Earlier in the year, John and I visited this privately owned garden, kids in tow, and received a lovely warm welcome from Marion, Harty and their family. As we sat in the kitchen, enjoying the home-made chocolate cake, and talking about the history of the garden, which Marion and Harty started from scratch, 25 years ago, I knew this would be a brilliant  venue for a gardening group outing: a gorgeous garden, fantastic company, and good cake – what more could you want?
This garden, occupying a plot of 3,500 square meters, was developed by Marion, an artist, for the function of creating a beautiful space. She modestly describes herself as “Not a trained gardener” and “not a plants woman,” but she has taken what was an empty field and has created a stunning garden,which has won the distinction of being named Jardinremarquable.
This prestigious award, which can be presented to gardens big or small, public or private, is bestowed by the National Council of Parks and Gardens (part of the Ministry of Culture and Communication) to those gardens deemed to have achieved a high level of remarkable achievement. See theComité des Parcs et Jardins de France’s website for the comprehensive list of all such gardens: www.parcsetjardins.fr
For Marion, her garden is all about shapes and textures and the different forms of the garden. Approaching gardening from the perspective of an artist rather than a horticulturalist, she uses evergreen hedges and shrubs to good effect, creating portholes in hedges and spiral topiary in cypress to add interest and to frame the views. Inspired by Sissinghurst, the garden is designed as a series of enchanting 'rooms' which you enjoy before discovering another one. I love the gloriette, which provides elevated views of the surrounding valley, and the lime walk is my personal favourite, as it creates a grand approach to the pool garden, with its lovely herbaceous border. But to be honest, it’s all gorgeous, and each new glimpse of a new vista, and each new path, beckoning you to follow it into another part of the garden, creates a magical ambience, so it’s not surprising to discover that a film crew used the garden as the set for a recent adaptation of Alice inWonderland. (There’s a new family member in residence atJardin de la Mothe  a celebrity rabbit – as the film crew gave the lapine star to Marion’s children once filming was complete).
Debbie

Val says Read more of Debbie's report with more pictures in the Gardening Label