Le Jardin Plume is the result of nearly three decades of design, implementation and gardening by owners Sylvie and Patrick Quibel.
Across the Mirror Pond to the wavy box hedge, shielding the Feather Garden
Located in rural Normandy, 12 miles east of Rouen, the garden has been created from farmland and an old orchard.
The starting point of the design was a line drawn from the centre of the house to the farthest boundary. The square reflecting pool and the main paths lead from it. Some of the old apple trees have survived storms and fit into the grid of borders but many have been replaced. The grids themselves have been defined by two passes of the lawnmower and were originally inspired by letting the grass grow long.
Adirondack chairs with a view
Over time the hedges were planted and shaped, sometimes in a deliberate attempt at geometry, at other times they’ve become dependent on the growth of the plants and the pruning skills of the gardeners.
That hedge
I was surprised to learn that Derek Jarman’s garden at Dungeness was a source of inspiration. Not so much the shingle and nuclear power station but the merging of the garden with the wider landscape, in particular using grasses and the apple trees to soften the boundary between the garden and the surrounding farmland.
Devil’s Bit Scabious and Ragwort in the Prairie Garden
Aside from the hedges, apple trees and cloud-pruned box in the Spring Garden, the garden is planted with herbaceous perennials, grasses, biennials and annuals. The Feather Garden has the most exhuberant planting in late summer - Sanguisorbas, Rudbeckia, Calamagrostis, Thalictrum and Salvias.
Anemone hupehenis Hadspen Abundance and Anemone var. japonica Pamina in the Flower Garden
The Summer Garden is still going strong and the Autumn Garden is just getting going. I’d love to see the garden in spring when the Prairie Garden is bursting with naturalised Camassias.
That hedge
The Summer Garden
A window on the Flower Garden
Asters in the Autumn Garden
A corner of the Fern Garden
From the Prairie Garden back to the house
All paths lead to the Mirror Pond
From the Mirror Pond towards the Summer Garden and the house beyond
The Summer Garden
The Feather Garden
Rudbeckia subtomentosa Henry Eilers
The Feather Garden
The Nursery
I’d planned my holiday in France around a trip to this garden and it was definitely worth it, the best garden I’ve visited in a really long time.
Please note there is a nursery and a loo but definitely no catering facilities. The garden is generally closed between midday and 2pm (naturally) and is about 6 miles from the nearest shop so come prepared for a leisurely picnic in your car. Any tickets bought in the morning are valid for the afternoon as well.
Le Jardin Plume - the last day is Sunday 15 October 2023.