Between St Emilion (33 Gironde, Nouvelle Aquitaine) and Bergerac (24 Dordogne, Nouvelle Aquitaine) there is a special garden centred on an old 18th century farmhouse – combining both English and Italian themes – the Jardins du Sardy at Velines (24 Dordogne, Aquitaine).
Described as a “Romantic Garden on the border of the Dordogne and Gironde départements. It is classified as a “Jardin remarquable” – A small garden from the 1950s built around a country house, with a shaded terrace for tea, and intimate landscapes and views inspired by English and Italian gardens (www.parcsetjardins.fr)
The garden includes a formal pond in an Italian style with cylindrical cypress trees dotted around.
You first enter the garden onto a gravel courtyard surrounded by stone buildings in a typical Dordogne style. Various plants in barrels decorate the courtyard as does a large container of lotus flowers.
A path leads past a sloping garden down to a flat area with a huge formal pond.
The spectacular pond is the highlight of the garden. It sits at the bottom of a steep slope planted beautifully and offering a great backdrop.
The pond is a large rectangular pond planted with water lilies and from the far end you can look over the pond at the wonderful planting surrounding the pond and up to the beautiful stone house sat above. www.french-gardens.com
The garden offers a Tea Room and produces its own Red Bergerac wines.
Velines is on the main Bergerac – St Emilion road (D936) a few kilometres west of Saint-Foy-la-Grande.
Gardens open daily from 28 April – 30 September 2018 from 10h to 18h – see https://jardinsdesardy.com/ and at other times between April and October by appointment,
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