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Gardens to explore on your holidays: Alpes and Provence
| 2008-06-30 By Catherine Delvaux et Emmanuelle Saporta Local or exotic flora, mediaeval or modern gardens, medicinal and edible plants... Set off to explore the wonders that lie hidden in these two regions. Prieuré de Salagon (04) © All rights reserved The Salagon Priory hasone of the most interesting ethno-botanical gardens. It deals with the connections that have always existed between man and plants, and shows the highland-type flora of the Mediterranean climate. From plants growing amongst rubble to historic gardens, it bears witness to the close relationship between flora and our society. One can thus see a modest garden of medicinal herbs, a reconstructed mediaeval garden, a kitchen garden with the nutritious and ornamental plants that our ancestors had at their disposal, as well as the medicinal plants of the pharmacopoeia of long ago. Each bed has an interpretation board that is very well made. It is a marvellous open-air book for children (for adults too), who can discover what the vegetables of old looked like, for example parsnip, Jerusalem artichoke or other more exotic ones, such as quinoa. It is a very successful project, which has given this marvellous priory another real raison d’être. Practical informationPrieuré de Salagon 04300 Mane. Tel: +33 (0)4 92 75 70 50. http://musee-de-salagon.com Opening times Closed in January. February, March, April: from 2pm to 5pm every day. May: from 10am to 12.30pm and from 2pm to 6.30pm every day. June, July, August: from 10am to 7.30pm every day. September: from 10am to 12.30pm and from 2pm to 6.30pm every day. October: from 2pm to 5pm every day. November and December: Sundays from 2pm to 5pm. Prices Between €3.60 and €6 € (including audio guide). Free for under-12s. Le Jardin Botanique Alpin du Lautaret (05) © S. Aubert Created in 1899, the Lautaret Alpine Botanical Garden bears witness to Grenoble University’s hundred-year-old passion for alpine flora. The wealth of the collections and the layout of rockeries integrated into the landscape make this high-altitude garden one of the most beautiful in Europe. Here, botany enthusiasts will find extraordinary collections of alpine plants from all over the world. However, there’s no need to be a botanist to appreciate the beauty and magic of this garden, nestling at the top of one of the most beautiful mountains in Europe. Temporary exhibitions are offered to visitors. “From Le Lautaret to the South Pole: the centenary of Scott and Charcot’s trials at Le Lautaret”, “The medicinal plants of Tibet”, “Giant macrophotographs outdoors”. Plants for sale on the way into the garden. Practical informationJardin botanique alpin du Lautaret Col du Lautaret - 05480 Villar D’Arène. Tel: +33 (0)4 92 24 41 62 (in summer). Opening times From 1st June to Sunday 21st September, open every day from 10am to 6pm. Prices Admission €5, reduced price €3, free for under-12s. Free guided tours will be available every day in July and August, at 10.30am, 2.30pm and 4pm (booking compulsory for groups. Tel: +33 (0)4 92 24 41 62). Le jardin de l’Alchimiste (13) © All rights reserved In the heart of Provence, perched in the Alpilles, is the charming village of Eygalières. Here visitors will discover, nestling against the beautiful Renaissance architecture of the Mas de la Brune, the Alchemist’s Garden, which is a floral evocation on the theme of alchemy. This very modern garden, using the means at the gardener’s disposal (colours, shapes and numbers), evokes the path of the mediaeval alchemists in search of the philosophers’ stone, which would have enabled them to turn lead into gold. Their quest passed through three stages, called “works”: black work, white work and red work, together also called “great work”. These stages were also a metaphysical and spiritual quest. The tour of the garden therefore unfolds around these three stages, and through a succession of small gardens, each one more original than the last: the Berechit Maze, Magic Garden and Alchemical Garden, which itself has three sections: black work, white work and red work… Here, the contrasts and effects of light, shape and colour are conducive to meditation. Every year the Alchemist’s Garden hosts historical, botanical, musical, artistic, culinary and scientific cultural events. Practical informationLe Jardin de l'Alchimiste Opening times From 1st May to 1st October, open every day from 10am to 7pm. Prices Unaccompanied visit: €6. Guided tour, including drink: €9. La bambouseraie de Prafrance (30) © All rights reserved The bamboo plantation of Prafranceis, without doubt, unique in France and even Europe. Film buffs might remember that it was here that Le Salaire de la peur (The Wages of Fear), with Yves Montand and Charles Vanel, was shot in 1953. Other films were subsequently shot here, including Paul et Virginie, as well as countless television productions. Beyond this anecdotal aspect, the bamboo plantation is a splendid park boasting hundreds of varieties and species of bamboo, including some very rare ones. So it is a botanical garden, but also a place for meetings and exchanges, and a cultural place, because numerous exhibitions are put on here, with many plant-related works on display. Allow plenty of time, because it is a magical place with a lot to see: giant bamboo 20 m tall, as well as dwarf bamboo no taller than grass. It takes around an hour and a half to tour the park, including an optional 30-minute guided tour. The guided tours leave every half hour or every quarter of an hour, depending on the season. The opening times are posted at the cash desk at the entrance. Audio guides in 6 languages. Dogs allowed on a leash, but no picnics inside the park. Practical informationLa Bambouseraie Domaine de Prafrance - 30140 Générargues Anduze. Tel: +33 (0)4 66 61 70 47. www.bambouseraie.com Opening times From 1st March to 15th November, seven days a week: open all day long from 9.30am, closing time varies depending on the season. Prices Individual: €7.50. Reduced price (under-12s): €4.50. Group rates (minimum 20 people): adults €5.50. Disabled people: €3.50. Domaine du Rayol (83) © All rights reserved Owned by the Conservatoire du Littoral, the Domaine du Rayol was entirely redesigned in the late 1980s, thanks to the intervention of landscape gardener Gilles Clément. Laid out overlooking the sea above a rocky bay, it contains vegetation inspired by Mediterranean-climate landscapes from all over the world: those of the Mediterranean Sea, but also those of California, Australia, South Africa, Chile, New Zealand… Here you will find local flora as well as more exotic plants brought back from the four corners of the earth: cactus, bamboo, fern, yucca. For another change of scene that is just as amazing, there is the marine garden of the Baie du Figuier, which harbours three biotopes rich in biodiversity (rocky and sandy depths and the famous Posidonia bed). Flipper-shod tours or underwater trips possible. Practical informationContact Domaine du Rayol - Avenue des Belges - 83820 Le Rayol Canadel. Tel: +33 (0)4 98 04 44 00. Opening times Open every day of the year. In July and August: from 9.30am to 7.30pm. Prices Adults: €8 Children: €5 Family rate (2 adults, 2 children under 18): €18. Admission fee includes the “exploration of the Mediterranean garden” tour, which lasts around 1 hour 30 min. Daily guided tour for “novices”, and more in-depth tours for gardening enthusiasts. Book ahead. Summer events In July: aromatherapy and herbal medicine workshops. Introduction to making a travel diary. Information and enrolment directly on the website, or by phone. 16th August: full-moon tour of the garden. Reservation on +33 (0)4 98 04 44 00. Café des Jardiniers, serving Mediterranean dishes. The grocer’s shop sells regional produce and the bookshop over 700 titles related to nature. |
