The floral park of Apremont-sur-Allier
Landscaped garden
There is no doubt that the Apremont-sur-Allier Floral Park’s close proximity to where the Loire and the Allier meet plays a key role in allowing for the architectural garden and the picturesque garden to come together.
The castle, the village, and the floral park of Apremont-sur-Allier: a continuous dialogue
The Apremont-sur-Allier Floral Park was designed in the 1970s by Gilles de Brissac, to start a dialogue between the village, the castle and the park. The floral park acts as a green extension of the charming village of Apremont-sur-Allier and, for the castle, it provides a gentle transition to the surrounding landscape. In return, the village and the castle participate as decorative features in the scenes that emerge as you explore the garden. This tripartite design is reminiscent, on a different scale, of the city-palace-garden complex created by André Le Nôtre at Versailles in the 17th century.
Although perfectly integrated into its natural setting, the floral park at Apremont-sur-Allier has nevertheless involved a major overhaul of the site, transforming what was once a featureless expanse into vast lawns and even a waterfall. After several years of work, the Floral Park opened its doors to the general public in 1977.
Sharing beauty
In addition to the aim of creating a link between the village and the château, the driving force behind the development of the Apremont-sur-Allier floral park is to share this beautiful space with as many people as possible. No fewer than 1,500 species of plants are brought together in the park, including wisteria, roses, clematis and laburnum, as well as rare and exotic species: sequoias, sweetgums, weeping cedars, Japanese cryptomerias, thuja, etc.
The key concept behind the design of the Apremont-sur-Allier floral park is convergence. The rigor of the guiding lines that speaks to the French spirit is delicately softened in the curves of the decorative elements of picturesque inspiration. The Anglo-Chinese spirit is first expressed in the “White Garden” which transports the visitor, barely entering the park, to England, to the garden of Vita Sackville-West; then it shines through in the mixed-borders, the water features, the waterfall, the bridge-pagoda, the oriental pavilions, the trees with free foliage or pruned in Asian fashion.
The floral park
18150 Apremont-sur-Allier
Phone: +33 (0)2 48 77 55 00 or +33 (0)2 48 77 55 06
info@apremont-sur-allier.com
