This pleasantly flowered kitchen garden blends vegetable patches with roses and perennial borders and makes this functional space a pleasant retreat to sit and relax as well as work in the kitchen garden.
Tag Archives: mixed borders
A Weekend Cottage Garden in Camaret
The owners of this lovely stone cottage in a picturesque fishing village on the Brittany coast in France, spend weekends and summers here. A few fruit trees and vegetables go on the table, and pink oleanders, sunflowers and perennial borders make for a pleasant setting to eat out in the garden.
Unusual Japanese Rock Garden Roundabout in France
I am endlessly surprised and often delighted at the thought and effort French towns put into landscaping their roundabout. I will be writing other posts on more of those roundabouts, some with tropical plantings, other with cottage garden good looks. This is one is inspired by Japanese gardens.
Le Faou: Extravagant Tropical Mixed Borders
Listed among France’s “Plus Beaux Villages de France” (most beautiful villages), Le Faou in Brittany puts out a display of stunning plantings and borders of shrub roses, cannas, silk trees, and many other shrubs and perennials. The mixed borders have the feel of a tropical garden.
Nantes “Jardin des Plantes” Part 3: the Botanical Gardens
My first post on the Jardin des Plantes in Nantes was about the hothouses and scientific garden, the second one was on the art and statuary, this one focuses on the theme gardens and plantings.
Meandering through the park, from the scientific garden, I first came across the shade garden, ferns and hostas surrounded by an amazing variety of evergreen shrubs and trees.
The theme garden “the Mountain” is inspired by 19th century gardens such as Kew garden in England, and was installed in 1847 by the then director of the Jardin des Plantes. A labyrinth of plantings guides a circular ascension to the top and a lookout point to the Loire river.
Water features dot the park.
Thousand of annuals, perennials and shrubs create lush borders year round. Photos below show just a small sampling and include gunnera, pennisetum, gingko, silk tree, hydrangea borders and mixed borders throughout the park.
Roscanvel, Brittany Garden with Outdoor Fireplace
This is a very traditional French country cottage garden with such features as climbing roses trellised over the hedge, hydrangea borders, mixed perennial borders, a collection of potted floral arrangements throughout the garden, and a brick outdoor fireplace.
A Seaside Kitchen Garden with Raised Beds
I happened upon this lovely seaside garden in the village of Roscanvel. The plants and flowers in the raised beds are all carefully labeled. The beds are arranged in a grid pattern with grapevines and apple trees growing along the back wall. When the vegetables in a raised bed have been harvested, wildflowers are planted as cover crops. The ocean view of course is beautiful!
Nantes “Jardin des Plantes” Part 2: Art at the Botanical Gardens
My first post on the Jardin des Plantes in Nantes was about the hothouses and scientific garden, this one focuses on the art installations and statues.
Art ranges from classic to modern with planted “totems” and an installation by Claude Ponti. Also dotting the park are other features, some quirky, such as a bird house, wavy benches, or a lookout point with a frame for photo taking.
Not only are the planting stunning, but this garden offers unexpected and delightful surprises at every turn.
Xeriscape Oceanfront Garden in Northern Brittany
This truly exceptional garden was created in the small village of Roscanvel, in Brittany, overlooking the ocean. It is terraced to accommodate a hilly lot and also affords some protection from the sea spray and wind, and of course winter storms that are commonplace in the region.
A variety of hardy and low maintenance shrubs and evergreens add visual interest with different shapes and foliage colors. A few flowering shrubs and perennials such as pink oleander or lambs ear add touches of color. The grey foliage of the lambs ear by the garden remains when they are finished blooming.
A French Wash House and Cottage Garden in Roscanvel
I came across this lovely cottage garden and old stone wash house or “lavoir” in French in Roscanvel, a small village on the coast of Brittany (I will be posting about other gardens in this area of the coast as well).
This is an example of a very simple wash house with a stone fountain going into a wash basin for women to do their laundry. Similar ones can be found all over French villages.
Note the extremely tall viperine, which in Brittany can grow well over 10 ft tall for some species. The valeriane growing on the side of a wall thrives in the poorest conditions and will not live as long in a garden border and richer soil.
Globetrotting Gardener 