No self-respecting potager is complete without a jolly good dose of beautiful, bright and cheery flowers planted in amongst the fruit and veg. And as you’d expect, the potager at Villandry does do this rather well.
One of the most repeated designs is a thick line of blue salvias running through a bed brimming with yellow tagetes. These look marvellous as they are complimentary colours, but they also serve a number of clever purposes in the garden.
They encourage pollinating insects such as bees, encourage beneficial insects such as hoverflies and parasitic wasps, and also deter and confuse pests with their scented foliage and flowers.
Other sections of the garden feature different examples of contrasting planting on a similar theme. In these beds, lavender, verbena and begonias are set against one another and serve the same practical purposes.
Roses are also a key element in the gardens. In the middle of the beds, they provide height and colour as standard bushes, while at the meetings between the paths, trellised arbours are covered in fragrant red climbers.
Beyond the vegetable patch, the gardens of the chateau include a formal knot garden, herb gardens, a hot garden and a cool garden. Here’s a gallery of some of the flowers in those plots:
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antony jones
I’m jealous, trying to recreate my own version in my modest sub-urban back garden, too much of modern design hides away from formality and history.
F&F
Hi Antony, that sounds like a great idea! You must share photos with us when it is ready.