An experimental garden

Between fields and orchards, romantic, lush and nurturing - this is a garden that shows expertise tinged with emotion. Childhood memories, travels in Italy, the lyricism of nature, and nostalgia for a paradise lost...

Dominique Lafourcade believes this place sums up the essence of "the Garden".

"Back then, it was an expanse of fields surrounded by orchards as far as the eye could see, and on the edge stood an old Provencal farmhouse, flanked by five age-old plane trees. The dream location to experiment with my passion"... A successful wager.

Today, combining poetry, gentleness, exuberance and regimentation, the garden belongs here, sheltered from the wind, protected by towering cypress hedges.
Mediterranean plant species in shades of green and grey are enhanced by fine collections of roses, irises and so on.

Shapes, volumes and textures coexist harmoniously in a world of plants created from scratch.

Punctuated by two pergolas in perpetual flower, a central water channel is a key feature, edged by a superb row of olive trees in pots.

Mixing alternation and repetition, formally laid out gardens where you can sit a while, paths to wander down and wonder at, sumptuous mixed borders, succulent fruit to nibble as you pass by, a belvedere under the canopy of a plane tree, heady scents wafting around a hedge... and blending into the surrounding countryside, the huge lavender field which soon attracted a following.

A garden to live in, as an extension of the house. Always eager to experiment and create, Dominique Lafourcade has recently begun the African Garden on the edge of the estate, a dry garden where wood and stone work hand in glove, a corner of land worked by the first men in a wild and hostile environment.