Boston Flora

Tag: Historic Gardens Foundation

  • Thursday, March 3, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – The Park and Gardens of the Domaine de Courances – “A Moveable Feast”, Online

    During the reign of François Ier, Fontainebleau and its surrounding area became very fashionable.  In 1552, Henri II’s secretary of state purchased land 12miles/20 km  west of Fontainebleau where he built the first Château de Courances and laid out a Renaissance water garden with 14 natural springs that now flow into 17 water features. It  also included the second Grand Canal ever excavated in France, which no doubt inspired Le Nôtre’s  use of the Grand Canal in the design of his formal Classical gardens 100 years later. In 1872, a new owner acquired the abandoned estate and hired the father and son team of Henri and Achille Duchêne to restore Courances’ park in the style à la française. Subsequent generations have continued to reinvent the magnificent park and gardens of Courances.

    Speaker Valentine de Ganay belongs to the fourth generation of her family to own the Domaine de Courances, and is the founder and manager of “Les Jardins de Courances”, an agricultural venture including a 7-acre/2.8-hectare potager (kitchen garden) adjacent to the domain. She has also converted 1,500 acres/600 hectares of fields to organic and regenerative agriculture. Valentine is the co-editor, co-author and author of the following three books in French: the hardcover Courances (2003, a collection of 30 essays with more than 450 images), the paperback Courances (2011, a book of photographs accompanied by French and English text), and Aristo ? (2013, a book about French society). 

    This lecture is pre-recorded and was originally given on June 9, 2021 as part of a series on “Unforgettable Gardens” organized by the Gardens Trust and the Historic Gardens Foundation. While the lecture is pre-recorded, the Introduction and Question & Answer session at the end of the lecture will be live with Valentine de Ganay.

    Register HERE. $20 for the general public, $10 for members of sponsoring organizations Alliance Française Chicago with communication support from the Federation of Alliances Françaises USA.  the French Heritage Society, the Historic Gardens Foundation, The Garden Conservancy and WICE

  • Thursday, February 24, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – The Parks and Gardens of Paris, Online

    According to the Ville de Paris website, the city of Paris has 490 parks, gardens and municipal squares under the responsibility of the Direction des Parcs, Jardins et Espaces Verts (DPJEV), which Haussmann established in 1855. The first gardens created next to the Tuileries Palace of Catherine de Médicis and the Luxembourg Palace of Marie de Médicis, were in the Italian style, designed to be seen from the château and to reflect the power of its occupant. The structural elements of the garden evolved into the Classical garden intended to show man’s domination of nature. These “regular” gardens reached their apogee under André Le Nôtre and his gardens at Vaux-le-Vicomte, Versailles and Chantilly, but also at the Tuileries. The parks and gardens created in Paris during the 19th century were inspired by the “irregular” English landscape gardens of “Capability” Brown and his successors – jardins à l’anglaise – which sought to return to nature. After a lull, Paris has enjoyed an explosion of new gardens in the past 40 years, most of them in the outer arrondissements. The current city government is determined to continue the “greening” of Paris.

    Join with others on February 24 for a one hour live webinar with speaker Russell Kelley. He has lived in Paris for 30 years and is the author of The Making of Paris: The Story of How Paris Evolved from a Fishing Village into the World’s Most Beautiful City (Lyons Press, 2021).

    This program is presented by Alliance Française Miami Metro in partnership with the Alliance Française Chicago with communication support from the Federation of Alliances Françaises USA, the French Heritage Society, the Garden Conservancy, the Historic Gardens Foundation, and WICE. $10 for members of a sponsoring organization, $20 for nonmembers. Register HERE. Garden Conservancy members use code MERCIAFMM. The program is presented in English.

  • Thursday, January 27, 1:00 pm – The Gardens of the Château de Valmer, Online

    Like its Loire Valley neighbor the Château de Villandry, the Château de Valmer dates back to the reign of François 1er. And like Villandry, the gardens at Valmer are laid out on a series of terraces that follow the slope of the hillside and end with the 2.5-acre/one-hectare ornamental kitchen garden (potager) that once fed 40 people and now grows edible plants and flowers to be enjoyed during the summer as well as vegetables to be preserved in tufa cellars during the winter. The château’s moat has become a separate garden. The domain also produces some excellent Vouvray wines! The Garden Conservancy is delighted to offer this virtual lecture on January 27 in partnership with the Alliance Française Chicago with communication support from the Federation of Alliances Françaises USA.  the French Heritage Society, the Historic Gardens Foundation, and WICE. $10 if a member of a sponsoring organization, $20 general public. Register HERE.

    Speaker Alix de Saint Venant and her husband Aymar are the fourth generation of their family to own the Château de Valmer since 1888.  Passionate about Valmer, Alix rediscovered the 17th century plan for the gardens, became a landscape gardener, and dedicated herself to the restoration of its Renaissance gardens. Alix is the co-author of Le Potager d’Alix de Saint Venant au château de Valmer (EPA, 2013). Finally, her son Jean is in charge of the 86-acre/35-hectare vineyard, taking over from his father and ensuring that the fifth generation will carry on the family tradition.