Tag Archives: cottage gardens

Wondrous Landevennec Garden Part 1: Plantings and Borders

This lovely garden just outside the small coastal town of Landevennec in northern Brittany  is absolutely full of surprises at every turn. I will show more of the garden structures in my next post, such as the bridge, gazebo, arbor, etc. In this post I will focus on the fantastic borders and plantings all throughout this garden.

The hedges all around mix a variety of shrubs for texture, foliage and blooms, together with perennials for touches of colors. The fall blooms of the dahlia borders add magical color to the fall garden.  Hostas and other shade loving plants fill shadier corners.

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Mixed borders of dahlias and mums
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Mixed hedges
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Mixed hedge shrubs with accent of black eyed susans
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Mixed shrubs ad texture, color and interest
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Underplanting of heather
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Acanthus grows by the mailbox
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Silk tree in bloom
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Purple leaf barberry
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Hydrangeas and dahlias
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A shady corner
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Shade loving plants

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A Rose Garden in Brittany, France with 100s of varieties

In northern Brittany, France, just outside of the small picturesque town of Le Faou is a nursery specializing in roses. I never featured a commercial establishment in one of my posts before, but in the middle of fields of roses is a lovely rose garden showcasing many of the species cultivated there, from shrub roses to climbing roses, to old fashioned roses, and a pleasure to browse for anyone who enjoys roses as I do.

I will be writing another post about this garden as well, showcasing some of the individual varieties of roses.

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Unusual Post Office Perennial Borders in France

Not only is the architecture of this post office building in France a bit unusual and somewhat reminiscent of a ship with the round windows, but it has some stunning mixed borders in its front “garden”.

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Ploher’s Old Gothic Church Garden

In this small Brittany village, the gothic era church with its lacy steeple typical of this region of Brittany is decorated with colorful mixed borders, decorative grasses, hydrangea hedges, and seasonal containers boxes.

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A Small Rose Garden in Brittany Adds Curb Appeal

This house in a small coastal town in Brittany, France would be just one of many like it if it weren’t for the lush display of blooms from the small rose garden in the front yard. Shrub roses, climbing roses, old fashioned roses, bloom from spring to fall. Geraniums, cannas, dahlias and hydrangeas are mixed in for foliage and texture as well as extra blooms.

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Flowered Garden at the Old Stone Church in Crozon, France

This church is at the center of the village square in Crozon, Brittany. It has a small front garden planted with a lush mix of annuals and perennials, including banana trees, brugmansias, lion’s ear,  papyrus, erigeron for ground cover, and black eyed susans.

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The back of the church is flowered with hydrangeas and mixed arrangements of blooming plants.

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An Unusual French Roundabout with a Pacific Island Theme

Next in my series of posts on French landscaped roundabouts, is this very unusual island themed roundabout in Brittany. I never cease to be impressed not only by the amount of work involved, but the sheer ingenuity that goes into the design and landscaping of roundabouts in France.

Each section of this roundabout garden makes an individual vignette to be seen depending on the road entering the intersection: underwater scene with fish and coral, beach loungers, tikki roofs and hammock, or boats. And all of it lushly landscaped in a wide array of mixed perennials that thrive in the climate of the region.

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French Stone Cottage with Roses

This lovely stone cottage is typical of the architecture of the older houses in northern Brittany. Situated in a small coastal fishing village, this front garden is filled with a variety of roses, from shrub roses to climbing roses on trellises and arbors, in shades of pink, red and white.

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Quimper Old Priory Medieval Gardens Part II: Pavilion & Rose Garden

In my earlier post, I talked about the history and significance of this garden, and showcase the aromatics and medicinal plant garden. Here, I am featuring the center portion of the garden including the rose garden and pergola, and the pavilion with the fountain representing the source of the four fountains of Eden.

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An orderly Kitchen garden in the country

Near the coast in northern Brittany, France, this house is surrounded by a neatly landscaped lawn area with benches and sitting areas; then further from the house is the kitchen garden with vegetable patches planted in orderly rows.

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