23 June 2017

New formal gardens at Chambord

Newly restored 18th-century gardens at the Château de Chambord, in the Loire Valley near Blois, opened to the public in March 2017.


The formal gardens are located along the north and east façades of the huge 16th century château, which was the work of the Renaissance-era French king François 1er.


I took these photos from the roof of the château, which is also open to the public.


The original gardens were designed in the 1600s during the reign of France's "sun king," Louis XIV, and were laid out and planted during the reign of king Louis XV in the 1700s.


They gradually fell into disuse and disrepair after the 1789 French revolution, and by 1970 the space they occupied had become a simple lawn.


The garden restoration project has been financed by an American investor and philanthropist, Stephen Schwarzman, who has a personal fortune of more than $10 billion. The gardens include some 200 rose bushes, 600 trees, 800 shrubs, and more than 15,000 plants in all.

8 comments:

  1. Merci de nous faire partager le résultat de ce magnifique travail .J'avais vu sur France2 un reportage sur ce chantier cet hiver .

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  2. Fantastic !
    It will be interesting to see how well maintained it will be in future - it's very labour intensive.

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  3. Wonderful.. and I guess we should all say Merci, Stephen Schwarzman, who knows how to spend his money :)

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  4. Bravo Mr. Schwarzman and Blackstone Investments!!!

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