Bois des Moutiers and Vasterival
 

Both of these gardens in Normandy are on our list this year. I was thinking we probably couldn't see both, but Michael's gorgeous photos persuaded me we have to.

Le Vasterival requires you to sign up for a tour, and English tours are not guaranteed. Can anybody tell me your experience with this garden?

I think you can just walk up and buy a ticket at Bois des Moutiers. Is that true for both the house and garden? We definitely want to see the Jekyll garden and the Lutyens house.

Any advice would be appreciated. We'll be in France from mid-May to mid-June. I've tried to schedule a tour of Le Vasterival, but their email said to wait till May.

<i>We went to Dieppe because there are two gardens nearby that are worth a visit. On the way we noticed that between Neufchâtel and Dieppe there is a bike path on what probably had been a railroad right of way. It is at least 70 km. long. I mention it for the bicyclists who happen to be reading this. The two gardens are in Varengeville, one called le Vasterival and the other le Bois des Moutiers. The first cannot be seen without a reservation, and only groups are admitted. But I called from the States (02 35 85 12 05) and asked if we could be attached to a group, so we had to be there at 10 a.m. on a specific date. The group came in one and a half hour late, which foreshortened the tour. The tour is given by the owner creator of the garden, Princess Sturdza, and it is she who, at 87, still maintains the 25 acre garden with two gardeners and her secretary plus other help during the heavy work season (wintering the beds and clearing them in the spring). It is a beautiful garden, well worth the visit. Unfortunately no photographs are allowed.
That afternoon we had a reservation for a visit of le Bois des Moutiers. The gardens and woods can be visited without reservation while the house requires a reservation, again groups only, but a fax (02 35 85 46 98) from the States assured our adherence to a group. In this instance, the guide was the granddaughter of the original owner of the house and garden. Her descriptions were to the point and with a touch of self-deprecating humor until we reached the music room. There, seriousness prevailed. The gardens are lovely, the house, designed around 1895 by an English architect to be integrated in the gardens, well worth a visit as it has been preserved in its original design and with its original furniture. I would have liked to have seen the kitchen, but we were shown only the public areas and a couple of bedrooms. Both tours were in English.</i>

From my 2003 trip report. The princess died a couple of years ago, so the policy on visits and photography may have changed.

Thanks for this, Michael. I have checked the websites. Your photos are even more spectacular than theirs.

Was your tour of Le Vasterival in English? It seems that one of the people who gives the tours is an English speaker, but we may have to join a French group and I'm wondering if the tour is worth it if we aren't going to understand it.

It was in English. In those days, the princess gave the tours and the group was an English group.

As long as you are not going when the garden in dormant, no language is necessary--just admire the garden.

I forgot: only two fo the photographs are of Vastérival because I was told that no photography was allowed. I left the camera in the car. Some people in the tour took photographs while touring, so I got the two after I went back to the car, but they do not come close to representing what the garden is like. The other garden pictures are of le bois des Moutiers.

I get the impression that the point of the tour at Vasterival is to identify plants and explain their own special method of pruning. I guess we'll go prepared to enjoy it visually even if we don't come home with new pruning skills.