A gardened landscape

Touraine became synonymous with the “garden of France” from the late 15^th century: its climate, water, terrain and soil were conducive to agricultural practices ranging from market gardening and viticulture to orchards and the acclimatisation of exotic plants.

The region’s soil was enriched by adding silt from the Loire and market gardening has been practised since mediaeval times. Exotic plants, citrus fruits among them, were introduced by Italian gardeners who accompanied King Charles VIII on his return from the Italian Wars. But the role of the abbeys and priories should not be overlooked, for they administered vast territories. The religious communities’ members cleared woods, cultivated the floodplains and gathered medicinal plants...

Heaven on Earth

The castles, which looked out over the landscape from the 16^th century, provided a monumental setting for gardens, even if few records allow us to picture the gardens of Eden on the Loire’s riverbanks. Nothing remains of the oldest gardens: Château de Villandry’s garden is a contemporary design harking back to the early 20^th century, inspired by the Renaissance. Chambord’s gardens take their cue from mid-18^th-century French-style gardens, while Amboise and Chenonceau’s gardens weave together diverse influences. The history of the Domain of Chaumont-sur-Loire is a little different. In addition to the park laid out at the end of the 19^th century, since 1992 an International Garden Festival has been hosted there, establishing the Loire Valley as a laboratory for landscape design.

Gardens, great and small

In the Loire Valley, the landscape as a whole was cultivated. On “varennes” – arable land enriched with alluvium – fruit and vegetables were grown and then selected before being dispatched to the markets in Paris. Melons, cucumbers, cabbages, squashes and horseradishes as well as almonds and liquorice were all exported from Touraine. The large gardens associated with the castles were prime testing grounds for developing technical skills: earthworks, water management, pruning of vegetation, etc. In the valleys, kitchen gardens were laid out in individual plots and the tradition of family allotments continues in the main cities. The link with the gardened landscape endures from the Loire’s banks up to the plateaus that overlook it.