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By Jean-Jacques Segalen (jjacques) August 17, 2008
Gardens are of course attractive to most plants lovers but roses gardens have a special hint as those flowers stand high among floral kingdom and bear deep symbolism for humans. We will take a stroll in one of those magical places.
The ‘Jardin de Boissonna' is situated in a charming part of France (actually most places in France are charming of course...) more precisely in Baleyssagues, a tiny village near the small town of Duras, in the Lot et Garonne which is grossly the South-West of France, in the vicinity ofBordeaux for those of you who indulge into wine, a number one product of this area. Even more precisely, the GPS location is N44°40.477' and E0°08.950'. The garden was created in 1998 by Georges Beylard, a retired oenologist engineer who also planted whole forests of hazelnut trees all around the garden. He is a dedicated plants lovers with a special interest in roses and managed to transform a piece of land surrounding the house into a very relaxing and delicious garden.
This garden has a global flower shape when seen from the sky, the central alley being the main stem and petals develop on both sides. The petals are cut across by numerous windy paths which lead to different parts of the garden and allow the visitors to enjoy the various sceneries and species. As many as 450 different roses grow here so there will be shapes, colours and perfumes to meet everybody's specific tastes, from old botanical roses with masses of small flowers blowing like fireworks on the dark foliage to big showy modern hybrids. You can first have a stroll using just your eyes and enjoy all the different colours and subtle shades that roses petals are able to display, then close your eyes and have a ‘nose stroll' enjoying all the various perfumes and smells available, just beware not to get your nostrils stung by one of the laborious bees working here and there! The garden is not arranged as a traditional formal French garden with straight alleys and meticulously pruned boxwood shrubs but in a most natural way, much more in the English garden spirit. Therefore roses are intertwined with other plants such as lavender, irises, columbines, horsetails, fennels, rosemary, rose mallows and different grasses which give a feeling of wild nature while an expert eye can see the whole work and thoughts behind it. Trees are also present with some huge linden trees, cedars, walnuts, apple trees, all hosts to numerous birds and squirrels. Large stone slabs and wooden benches, garden chairs and trunk slumps are available for the visitors who want to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere and have a small rest before discovering more.
George's daughter, Véronique, is the one who will guide you through the garden, skilfully explaining the different parts and attracting your attention to some tiny details. She has spent many years in Great-Britain and is therefore fluent in English, a not so common thing in France and much appreciated by foreign visitors who do not all master Moliére's language. She will also offer tea in the garden for a small fee, you will probably not be too surprised to know that this is not straight black tea but rose tea, accompanied by hand-made scones possibly topped with roses jam for the sweet teeth. Free visiting without reservation is also possible everyday from May to October. Free visit is 5€ per person, visit plus tea and sweets is 10€. A bell at the entrance of the garden is to be vigorously shaken to make yourself known, in case nobody shows up you can proceed to visiting, an honesty box it hung for the fees, people under 18 years old get free entrance. Best time for the garden is of course in spring, say May-June when most roses are blooming but it is attractive even at other times.
And if you happen to be on a bad day or have crooked your back while selecting wine bottles in one of the numerous cellars of the surroundings, you may take advantage of the fact that Véronique's husband, Christophe, is a licensed osteopath practitioner who runs his cabinet in the garden's house.
I am a Parisian born professional horticulturist specialized in tropical seeds producing, set on Reunion island (just between Mauritius and Madagascar) 17 years ago. I spend a lot of time gathering seeds in the wild, the ones I do not grow that is. Also a dedicated Tai-Chi practitioner and tree climber!
Posted by cleanspring (from Denison, TX) on August 20, 2008 at 5:39 AM:
What a wonderful visit this must have been. Each leaf of the garden must have looked like a new garden altogether, and I'm sure you can't see or smell too many roses. Sometimes, smelling one rose can transport me. Thanks for the interesting article and for the photos. I would love to go to France and see the garden myself. I just love France. Springy
...
Posted by jjacques (from LE TAMPON
(Reunion (French))) on August 20, 2008 at 10:13 AM:
Yes, it was great. And as I stayed several days and gave a hand in the garden (mowing and pruning trees) I could enjoy it at different times of the day, mornings being the ones I prefer though evening colors are fantastic. Good thing you are sensitive to perfumes, more and more people loose the sense because of pollution, tobacco and too much focus on sights. Hope you get there some day!
...
Subject: Jardin de Boissona
Posted by SueHansen (from Glencliff, NH) on August 19, 2008 at 4:41 PM:
Beautiful place; I would love to go there!
...
Posted by jjacques (from LE TAMPON
(Reunion (French))) on August 20, 2008 at 5:17 AM:
No problem sue, the friendly folks over there will always provide a warm welcome!
...
Subject: Great
Posted by phicks (from Lakeland, FL) on August 17, 2008 at 8:49 PM:
Good Article Nice Pics
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Posted by jjacques (from LE TAMPON
(Reunion (French))) on August 18, 2008 at 12:24 AM:
Yes, too bad I could not insert the perfumes in the article!
...
Subject: I felt like I was there!
Posted by gloria125 (from Greensboro, AL) on August 17, 2008 at 3:54 PM:
I can imagine walking around under the hazelnut trees.
...
Posted by jjacques (from LE TAMPON
(Reunion (French))) on August 18, 2008 at 12:23 AM:
Oh yes, I forgot to mention that Véronique, the garden fairy, also makes pralines with hazelnuts, yummy!
...
Posted by gloria125 (from Greensboro, AL) on August 18, 2008 at 11:13 AM:
We make pralines with pecans here. It really is a New Orleans tradition.
Interesting how you measure a place by what you can eat there!
...
Posted by jjacques (from LE TAMPON
(Reunion (French))) on August 18, 2008 at 12:40 PM:
Mmmh, pecans! I had a lot of those when I was staying in Austin, they grew in the streets so it was some welcome nutritious free food! We don't get much in Europe, not to mention in Reunion!
...
Posted by gloria125 (from Greensboro, AL) on August 18, 2008 at 12:45 PM:
i have them in my backyard. My dog guards them when they come down in November, so no squirrels will get her nuts. She loves to crack them and meticulously extract the nut and spit out the shell.
She lets me have a few.
...
Posted by jjacques (from LE TAMPON
(Reunion (French))) on August 18, 2008 at 1:00 PM:
Woh! Dog-guarded pecans, that's something!
...
Posted by gloria125 (from Greensboro, AL) on August 18, 2008 at 1:09 PM:
I think I might try a grove of hazel nuts. Do they get to be tree sized there?
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Posted by jjacques (from LE TAMPON
(Reunion (French))) on August 19, 2008 at 7:48 AM:
Hazel nuts are usually kept low for easy harvest but if lefet unpruned they can get to five meters high. There are quite a few different varieities with various size and shapes of the fruits.
...
Posted by gloria125 (from Greensboro, AL) on August 19, 2008 at 10:40 AM:
Ive wanted to plant them for some time, but I am in Zone 8 and they are designated for Zone 7. Zone 8 = average annual low 20 degrees F.
Do they need cooler temperatures - like mountains?
...
Posted by jjacques (from LE TAMPON
(Reunion (French))) on August 19, 2008 at 12:14 PM:
I could not help much on this but I'm sure you'll get some help from DG members, should be fruits forum somewhere I bet.
...
Posted by gloria125 (from Greensboro, AL) on August 19, 2008 at 1:49 PM:
Yes there is. Ill be looking forward to another of your articles.
gloria
...
Posted by jjacques (from LE TAMPON
(Reunion (French))) on August 20, 2008 at 5:16 AM:
OK, I submitted the next one 'old stones and vineyards' hope it comes soon.
...
Posted by gloria125 (from Greensboro, AL) on August 20, 2008 at 7:50 AM:
The petals are cut across by numerous windy paths which lead to different parts of the garden and allow the visitors to enjoy the various sceneries and species. As many as 450 different roses grow here so there will be shapes, colours and perfumes to meet everybody's specific tastes, from old botanical roses with masses of small flowers blowing like fireworks on the dark foliage to big showy modern hybrids. You can first have a stroll using just your eyes and enjoy all the different colours and subtle shades that roses petals are able to display, then close your eyes and have a ‘nose stroll' enjoying all the various perfumes and smells available, just beware not to get your nostrils stung by one of the laborious bees working here and there! The garden is not arranged as a traditional formal French garden with straight alleys and meticulously pruned boxwood shrubs but in a most natural way, much more in the English garden spirit. Therefore roses are intertwined with other plants such as lavender, irises, columbines, horsetails, fennels, rosemary, rose mallows and different grasses which give a feeling of wild nature while an expert eye can see the whole work and thoughts behind it. Trees are also present with some huge linden trees, cedars, walnuts, apple trees, all hosts to numerous birds and squirrels. Large stone slabs and wooden benches, garden chairs and trunk slumps are available for the visitors who want to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere and have a small rest before discovering more. 
