Plants are densely woven in these two areas to create a real painterly feel.
And it’s the height, as well as the depth of the planting that really gives you the sense of being totally immersed in the planting, with the sweet scents, fluttering butterflies and the buzzing of bees completely infiltrating your senses.
The orchard (from which all other gardens are accessed) is by far the largest garden of the nine distinct areas,
and seating dotted around allows the visitor to soak up the atmosphere from many spots. In fact all of Jardin Plume is peppered with great seats, which has to make it one of the most inviting gardens I know to visit.
This time round, I was totally captivated by the planting in the flower garden. Above you can see the muted pink Echinacea ‘Razmatazz’ stealing the show. It’s an Echinacea gone spectacularly wild and it really reminded me of photos of me and my sisters from the 70′s with our de rigueur spindly feather haircuts.
I was rather taken with this fancy cultivar in the nursery too.
Back in the flower garden and hedging around the edges of the beds creates a soft gentle formality,
and more defining hedging, and a great bench, allow you to quietly settle down and contemplate the fantastic plant combinations.
Each turn (or bench) provides another splendid vista, here, pink and white Gauras provide a light and airy scene. (Gauras seem to be the height of fashion in many a French municipal planting scheme this summer, often planted alongside Russian sage (Perovskia) which makes journeying through French villages an absolute delight.)
Quieter front of border plants, such as this Calamintha nepeta nepeta, were covered in bees,
and this vibrant Tagetes tennuifolia, a gorgeous half-hardy annual marigold, prodcuces abundant flowers all summer long and well into September. Both now on my list for next year.
Not sure if these chunky patches (each as big as my back garden!) of Inula racemosa Sonnenspeer were there before.
This scrappily majestic giant of a plant looks gorgeous en masse, but would (I imagine) look equally great in a mixed border too.
Finally, as I headed for the gate (and the dangerously tempting nursery), the sensuous box balls looked clipped to perfection in the spring garden.
It’s been great to see Jardin Plume again in September, but fingers crossed that I’ll be able to visit earlier in the year next time so that I can witness the change of seasons throughout this most inspiring of gardens.
P.s The garden is in Normandy, not far from Rouen. Other gardens to visit nearby are Abby St. Georges de Boscherville and the Jardin d’Angelique.
The last time I visited Jardin Plume was 2 years ago and although most of the structure remains the same, the planting, especially in the flower and autumn gardens, seems even more lush than before.
