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Gardens of Provence
Monday 17th - Friday 21st May 2010

There is a magical quality to Provence.  It may be the remarkable light that so captivated the Impressionists, or the dramatic contrasts of the landscape, from the bleakly arid Alpilles, across the fertile plains of the Rhone, to the oak-covered slopes of the Luberon.  The whole area is laced together by long avenues of plane trees through which the sun streams.  Whatever the source of this magic, it has inspired many gardeners who have developed a style unique to Provence, subtly reflecting the local vegetation and landscape. This five day tour gives a rare opportunity to explore a number of these very private gardens.

We will be based in a centrally positioned four star hotel in the charming town of St Remy-de-Provence. Here, plane tree shaded boulevards surround the old town, where alleyways link courtyards and quiet squares, which burst into life with the morning market. The views towards the jagged crests of the Alpilles are spectacular.

After an afternoon flight to Marseille we drive by coach to St Remy-de-Provence and arrive in time for a stroll around the town or a drink in the hotel garden before dinner.

The following day we cross the Alpilles to visit a private garden set on the southern slopes of the hills.  This garden was developed from the natural scrub after a forest fire in 1999 fortuitously opened up views across the surrounding hills.  We lunch in a nearby restaurant before visiting the Jardin de l’Alchimiste with its themed gardens exploring magic, alchemy, and the stages of development of the human intellect.   Our third visit could not be more different.  Here the garden is designed to blend into the striking landscape.   A main vista looks towards the dragon-like crest of the Alpilles, rows of lavender draw the eye towards the hill-top village, and native trees and shrubs have been sculpted to wonderful effect.

On Wednesday we head towards Apt to see a garden designed initially by Alain-David Idoux, which continues to be developed by the current owners. The entrance path winds under ancient oaks to a formal parterre. Elsewhere clipped cistus, santolina and rosemary are planted under trees shaped by Marc Nucera, a “sculpteur d'arbres”, whose work features in several Provençal gardens.  The view from the house takes in a wide sweep of the valley below the wooded Luberon plateau. After lunch we visit the hugely influential garden created by Nicole de Vesian around her house at Bonnieux.  The garden lies in a series of narrow terraces, filled with the shapes of clipped evergreens, culminating in a lavender terrace.

On the fourth day we explore some very different gardens.  Vallon Raget has been in the ownership of the Raget family for generations. They have created a garden reminiscent of an informal English garden although a closer look reveals plants which could only thrive in a Mediterranean climate.   The same skill is evident in the next garden where we will lunch.  Here the owner is a plantswoman who is passionate about trees and has amassed, from nothing, a remarkable collection of acers, oaks and figs contained within tightly clipped bay hedges. Finally we will visit a private garden near St Remy-de-Provence latterly designed by Tim Rees.  A large Celtis australis by the house shades a lawn, with a vista towards a cascade.   On one side lies a formal cutting garden designed by Rosemary Verey while elsewhere a sunken garden containing a formal arrangement of pools and ancient olives is given a contemporary twist by the cloud-clipped hedges and the abundant summer-flowering perennials and shrubs.

On our final day we visit the vineyard and garden at Val Joanis, where the terraced garden was created in 1978 as an ornamental and practical potager.  The first level is filled with herbs and vegetables.  On the second, pyramids of holm oak and hornbeam are surrounded with roses and perennials including gaura and iris, while the third terrace is an informal collection of specimen trees. After a tour of the winery and lunch we return to Marseille Airport and the late afternoon flight to Gatwick.