Day 3 of Travel in France was a drive from Bourges to Clermont Ferrand, organised to visit the Parc Floral at Apremont-sur-Allier and the Allier river. The Parc Floral is magical! DO NOT MISS an opportunity to linger in this garden! As you walk through the door of the ticket office you step into another, fantastical world which I have to share with you.
The Parc Floral at Apremont-sur-Allier opened to the public in 1976. The story of the restoration of the garden and the village starts in 1836 when Eugene Schneider, a rich industrialist, married into the family and vowed to restore the buildings and garden. One of his grandsons, Gilles de Brissac, started building the garden in 1970.
The flowers were stunning: hibiscus, dahlias, hydrangeas, scented clerodendron, heather, perovskia and montbretia, lilies….
The White Garden was inspired by Vita Sackville-West’s white garden at Sissinghurst.
I loved the beautiful grasses.
The trees are magnificent.
And the Abizia (mimosa) was in flower.
There is another post to come.
You may be interested in
Parc Floral, Apremont-sur-Allier
Les Plus Beaux Villages de France
The family history
Building the garden
runner500
That’s lovely – some fantastic photos.
Candy Blackham
It was absolutely magical – I could have stayed all day
sissinghurstntblog
Very interesting post , nice photos too. That’s one of the best Cornus controversa variegata I’ve ever seen. It’s a lovely shape. Helen (gardener at Sissinghurst)
Candy Blackham
Thank you. The garden at Apremont was absolutely stunning, but I am sure you will know it. It was quite new to me, and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing – absolutely immaculate too. It must be wonderful to work there. It is some time since I last saw Sissinghurst; it is in my diary for the Spring