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Private Gardens of the Ile de France

Heather Stimmler
Courances Gardens

Last week I got to spend six days guiding Keith Kirsten’s group of South African garden enthusiasts around the private gardens of the Ile de France (organized by the Académie des Arts de Vivre). Here are just a handful of the hundreds of photos I took.

We visited gardens of every size and type, from chateaux and arboretums to tiny home gardens (like the one above) and even the Courson Plant Festival.

Chateau de Courson and the Gardening Show
Cute succulents at Courson.
Amusing plant names at Courson.
More flowers at the Courson Garden Show
A private garden — but not a tiny one! — in Fleury-en-Bière
Fleury-en-Bière entrance
A “Persian” garden in Fleury-en-Bière.
Irises and decorative garlic at St Jean de Beauregard.
Ladybug at St Jean de Beauregard.
The Conservatory of Holly
Chateau de Courances
The Gardens of Courences
What plane trees look like if you leave them alone! Each of those boulders are big enough for four people to sit on them, easily. At Château de Courances.
A gorgeous alley at Chateau de Courences.
Bois de Fay Gardens

The weather was fabulously warm and sunny for the month of May (alas, not so great for the thirsty trees and flowers). Many of the plants flowered three weeks early this year.

A fat peony in a private garden, Bois de Fay.
The restored ruins of the Chateau de la Madeleine, overlooking the Vallée de la Chevreuse.
The gardens of the Chateau de Breteuil.
Topiary at Château de Breteuil
One of the chateau owners gives us a tour of his family’s home.
Another gorgeous tree, this one at Les Grandes Bruyères
Maples and Heather shrubs (aka bruyère en français) at Les Grandes Bruyères.
More accessible to the general public, the candlelight nights at Vaux-le-Vicomte are a must-see.
Keith and some of the tour members pose with the garden sculptures. How could I not have fun with a group like this?
Caught sitting down on the job (I was just testing the view from the bench, I swear!)
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