Bea's Gardens

Yes, there is an 's' on that word, gardens.  I came away from the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild thinking there were seven gardens, but I can't name them all.  The website seems to list far more than seven, so perhaps it took seven years to landscape the place.  It wouldn't be hard to believe.

I do remember that there was a Rose Garden, mostly with pink roses.  I can tell you that there was an exquisite smelling rose called Rosa Fragonard, Hybride de thé Delbard.  I'm not alone in thinking it was heaven.  According to the World Rose Society, this rose was voted by the public as the most fragrant.  As Heather recently said...The Things You Learn Here...

There was also a Japanese Garden, with lines traced in the pebbles surround the rocks and a veritable forest of bamboo.

One of my favourites was the Stone Garden.  I seem to remember a bit of wrought iron there, too.  Just as the furniture inside the villa was all seemingly of historic significance, I'm sure that the stone monuments were hijacked from various priories or cathedrals.  

My hat is off to the garden landscapers, though.  Excepting the Cactus Garden, it was all completely delightful; neither of us is keen on plants that stab and rarely flower.  The layout was very much like walking from room to room, with no boring bits in between.  There were no angles that weren't camera-worthy.  It was actually a garden that lived up to the house.

The best bit was at the end, though, when we came back towards the villa to find the fountains were tied in with a selection of classical music.  It was all very restful and a much needed rest, too, after all that walking around.

That screen-like structure originally had glass panels to shield
the garden from the winds. The glass had to come out as too many birds were being
killed, flying into the wall they couldn't see.

When the symphony finished I sat looking around, thinking how lucky we were to have seen this wonderful place.