| The gardens of Valloires |
  This botanical park was created in 1989 to enhance and protect a collection boasting 4000 varieties of rare shrubs and roses, which is unique in France. The Cistercian abbey of Valloires suits it to perfection: this ancient monastery was rebuilt in the XVII Th century. Its magnificent chapel (former abbey –church) constitutes one of the most remarkable bodies of French religious art during the reign of Louis XVth: wrought iron gates by Jean Baptiste Veyren, wood panellings by baron Pfaff of Pfaffenhoffen. During a guided tour across the seven hectares of the park, you will discover three types of gardens: - A garden inspired by typical abbey gardens - a landscape garden, combining the bulk of the collection - a wild marsh garden The aim of the gardens of Valloires is to make people aware of the Lushness of the vegetable Kingdom. They want to become, as years 90 by, a reference on architectural nature.   HISTORICAL LANDMARKS The creation of the Cistercian abbey of Valloires goes back to the XII Th century. In 1138, Guy II of Ponthieu, a descendant of Hugues Capet, signed with monks of the order of Citeaux the erection of their seventh abbey. While established at first in Bonnances, then in Balances, in the vicinity of Abbeville, the monks finally settled down in Valloires (i.e. small valley) in Authie in 1158.The abbey was vastly prosperous in both the th and XIII th centuries but the Hundred Year War and then the Thirty Year War almost completely destroyed it. The abbey was rebuilt in the XVIII Th century, thanks to a prior called Don Comeau and the bishop of Amiens. The Austrian sculptor Pfaff of Pfaffenhoffen was put in charge of its interior decoration. During the French Revolution, in 1791, the monks were driven away and the abbey was sold to the seigneur de L’Etoile who fortunately saved it from the disasters of the Terror. In 1817, his heirs sold the abbey to the non-religious brotherhood of the Basiliens. Later, the abbey became the property of La société de Saint Vincent de Paul, which opened an agricultural orphanage in the abbey. Put up for sale again in 1906, it was registered as an historical building, but then was abandoned until 1922, when a team of Red Cross nurses under the supervision of miss Papillon opened a tuberculosis sanatorium for children in the abbey. Nowadays, the abbey is divided into two parts: the first one is dedicated to problem children, the second being used for the reception and   AN EXCEPTIONAL GARDEN Since 1981, the Pas de Calais nurseryman Jean Louis Cousin has put together a collection of 3000 varieties of plants (shrubs and bushes) coming from North America and northern Asia which adapted themselves very well to the Picardy climate. Anxious to expand in his field, Jean Louis Cousin wanted to show new plants and introduce a wider audience to this collection, which is unique in France. So he started to look for a suitable spot to enhance it. The Syndicat Mixte Pour L’Aménagement de la Côte Picarde offered the setting of the abbey of Valloires. In early 1985, the state, the Picardy region and the department of the Somme signed with the Syndicat Mixte pour l’Aménagement de la Côte Picarde the collective agreement for the touristic expansion of the Picardy Coast and its countryside. The gardens of Valloires and their development played a key role in the agreement. A walk through a green heaven On the botanical level, this garden is a “fruticetum”, i.e. a collection of shrubs and bushes. One of the long term targets of this garden is to offer a reference collection. It is also a specialized conservatory for the Rubus which is very rarely shown. The garden spreads over 7 hectares (=20 acres) with a 25 meter difference in height between the highest and the low parts of the garden. The central part is the setting of a very strict looking garden in front of the west façade of the building. It displays a rose garden with ancient varieties and “simples” (medicinal and edible plants) laid out in 5X5 squares, the way the Cistercians had thought it up. This rose garden is especially remarkable for the boldness of its revolutionary design: - By its choice of roses usually never used in a traditional rose garden; by its pastel colours, especially the predominant white and light pink colours. - By its association of rosebushes and perennials, offering a feast for the eyes for a longer period than rosebushes alone could accomplish. - And especially by the disconcerting but widely popular presence of vegetable patches among the rosebushes. Don’t forget to see the rose “Jardins de Valloires” created especially for us and whose godmother is the famous French actress Catherine Deneuve.  In 2004 for the 100th birthday of the “entente cordiale”, David Austin has created for Valloires the “Rose of Picardy”; this new original variety has been celebrate in Valloires by the Duchess of Gloucester. The central axis in the symmetry of the façade ends in a botanical cloister, the replica of the stone cloister in the abbey. Close by, in the lowest part of the garden, are plants that suit its humid soil: iris, ferns, alder, birch and other marsh vegetation. In opposition to this humid lower garden, a dry embankment with a series of hedges is like some kind of giant step to get to the islands. This embankment displays the different varieties of plant with white blossom in order not to alter the simplicity of the central architecture of the garden. A lane of curious “Mount Fuji” flowering cherries with their horizontal branches is the perfect transition between the regular garden and the garden of the islands. The body of the collection is gathered by themes which are suggested by the name of the islands: island of the soft thorns for the remarkable spruce grove, island of the butterflies for the plants that attract them, winter island for the trees with red, green, pink or striped barks, island of gold and silver for the hues of its foliage, Syringa island, cherry tree island and so on… A special place has been done for the children: the 5 sens garden: they can smell, touch, taste…special plants as a game. The garden is no more complicate for them: they can meet a flower, a bird, a bee… A new garden, the evolution garden, has been open in 2003. The aim is to make understand the long times plant has needed to come out from the water, 400 millions years ago, and become what we see now. This garden also show the big work of our naturalist Jean Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1822) who has been the first scientist who has the idea of the evolution process.This garden has been done for students and biologists. Valloires Activities Valloires welcomes each year more than 60 000 visitors. The garden is linked with the natural reserve of the Bay de Somme (which tween with the Bay of Rye). A lot of events help the garden to be discovered throughout the year. Interreg II and III: Valloires has made several European programs with the English garden “Michelham Priory” and the county council of the east Sussex. Contact : http://www.jardins-de-valloires.com |