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Le Château du Clos Luce
Le Château du Clos Luce greatest claim to fame is as the final home of Leonardo da Vinci and the garden is set out as a celebration of his work. It does though have two redeeming features; one is the reconstruction of da Vinci bridges and the other is his vegetable garden. If you ever…
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Le Château de Chambord
Le Château de Chambord looks like the archetypal grand French château, built in the 16th century and believed to have had some of its features designed by Leonardo da Vinci. If Disney was to build a château this is what it would build. The truth is though that it was in fact only ever used…
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Pinetum Park & Pine Lodge Garden
This is a private garden open to the public and one of the best modern gardens in the south west of England. It is far more of a garden than the nearby Eden Project or Lost Garden of Heligan and one of my favourite gardens of all time. It all started in 1976 when Ray…
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Logan Botanic Garden
Part of the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh (RBGE); Logan Botanic Garden sits at one of the most south-westerly points of Scotland, only 40 miles from the centre of Belfast as the crow flies. Bathed by the gulf stream to the west and sheltered by the Scottish Lowlands to the east this garden contains a stunning…
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Les Jardins Suspendus de Marqueyssac
Perched on a rock outcrop high above the fertile flood plain of the Dordogne river and surrounded by the rivers meander on three sides the garden enjoys dramatic views across the country side. There has been a château and garden on this site at least since the 17th century when the then owner, Bertrand Vernet,…
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Sissinghurst Castle
When Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicholson bought the ruined Sissinghurst Castle in 1930, along with its surrounding estate, Harold was initially hesitant until won over by its potential. And at that time potential was all the property really had as it was an uninhabitable wreak. Harold and Vita though quickly started to create plans and…
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Les Jardins d’Eau
In truth this is more a resource than a garden but a very attractive one all the same. It is though a celebration of water lilies and lotuses which cover about 3 hectares. Started in only 1999 and opened to the public in 2000 the gardens make use of a site which slopes down to…
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Hampton Court
Over its 500 year history this was a royal palace for over 200 years from the Tudor through the Stuart and into the Hanover period. Each successive period saw the house and gardens develop with the combination of great wealth and a need to impress. At this time the monarchy set the style and the…
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Chatsworth House
One of the most famous gardens in England due to having to of its most impressive water features the Cascade and the Emperor Fountain. There is much more to the gardens than these and you could easily spend a full day going around the gardens and still not see it all. When you do go…
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Giverny
This was the home of the painter Claude Monet for the last 43 years of his 89 year live and features in many of the most important paintings of the impressionist movement. Though now preserved due to its importance it was very much the product of a passionate gardener. The garden and his work as…
