My favoured form of planting is always loose, with few sharp edges, but I can also be a sucker for the odd bit of formality too. On the way back from two weeks in the Loire (blog from Chaumont imminent), we stopped off in Saint Martin de Boscherville, just west of Rouen in Normandy, unaware that there was a rather large and impressive Abbey in this quite small village. The beautifully designed and maintained garden was a joyous surprise and a serene spot to enjoy the soft, late rays of a warm summer afternoon. The simplicity and perfection of this sculptural square of hornbeams completely enchanted me. Oh, to have a spacious plot and have a go at recreating this organic marvel.
What first lured me to the gardens was the promise of a potager,
and I was delighted to find quite a number of beautifully planted flower and veg beds on entering the garden.
Even the scarecrows followed a somewhat religious theme.
From the hornbeam terrace, views of the Abbey and further across the Seine valley were breathtaking and I would definitely like to spend a few more days on our next visit to explore more of the Normandy gardens on offer. This time round we stayed a night in the very comfortable Le Brecy (with a delicious breakfast of croissants and home-made jams, honey and yoghurt). If you’re in the area, a couple of other gardens certainly worth a visit just east of Rouen are Les Jardins d’Angelique and Le Jardin Plume (to read the Jardin Plume Blog click here) .
Out of my shed 
Welcome back, Naomi. It seems you’ve had a visually glorious holiday – love your photos of the Abbey gardens, they’re really quite beautiful. The French sure have a way with garden design!
That’s very lovely. However, that scarecrow is a bit ‘Wicker Man’ meets ‘The Crucible’ – never mind the crows, you won’t find me snuffling around that vegetable patch either.
Lovely garden! It is such fun to come upon a surprise like this one. Nice to find other people who enjoy making beautiful things.
I am curious whether there was any space cut into the middle of the hornbeam square?
Julie
Naomi you are a natural. The photographs are so good, the language so evocative and the contents so inspiring that I can’t wait for the next blog. Thanks!
Caro-still dreaming about that Hornbeam square, it was so exquisite and WMG, may have to go back and run under the sculpture to look to see if there is a space. David-do agree , scarecrow rather creepy, but rest of garden so serene, that I didn’t care. Flora-thanks for v.kind comments. Next French Garden blog appearing later in the week.V.best Naomi
I think these pics are absolutely beautiful, I used to live near here, but never had the chance to visit, so it’s lovely to see on here 🙂
Hi Janey, Glad you like the pics. Yes, the gardens of the Abbey were a delight to behold-especially as we stumbled upon them by accident. Well worth a visit (along with a few other nearby gems) if you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods again.V.best Naomi
[…] The garden is in Normandy, not far from Rouen. Other gardens to visit nearby are Abby St. Georges de Boscherville and the Jardin […]