French gardens and gardening

Discover the best gardens France has to offer. With hundreds of gardens to choose from our guide helps you to choose and locate the best gardens for you to visit.

France has some truly amazing gardens and you should try to incorporate some garden visits to any trip to France. These gardens range from the traditional French style of very formal bedding schemes often seen in the gardens of large chateaux such as Chateau de Versailles and the Chateau de Hautefort, to the smaller more relaxed planting schemes which are becoming increasingly popular.

Because France is such a large country the variety is enormous, from the wetter, cooler north where many gardens use very similar plants to those of the UK, to the dry and hot meditterranean regions of the south-east with a big emphasis on lavender and other aromatic plants adapted to the dry hot conditions. And of course the mountain regions offer the potential to see lots of alpine plants in their natural settings.

This garden guide allows you to discover the gardens you can visit in France with a description of each garden and its location and visiting hours.

Gardens to visit in France

There are a wide range of French gardens open to the public. These include the traditional formal gardens, laid out in the French garden design style in the grounds of French chateaux; and the medicinal, herb and decorative vegetable gardens which became very popular in France in medieval times.

There are also many 'English style gardens' and gardens using the very natural style of planting which has become popular in recent years.

The huge diversity in France means it is possible to see great examples of all styles of garden from alpine to mediterranean and exotic to cottage-style. These are some of the French gardens that are open to the public...French gardens to visit

Some favourite garden plants

See this section for some of my preferred plants for use in the garden.

Find suggestions for Mediterranean plants, especially well adapted to the dry summers we often experience now, and also the ideal plants for the borders and a range of perennials that allow you to keep up interest throughout the year.

Architectural plants are useful dotted around to add interest and make a statement in your garden.

Grasses have enjoyed an explosion of interest in recent years and are much used in natural gardens, a style made popular by designers such as Piet Oudolf. And of course every garden needs shrubs and or hedges to add structure... Garden plants

Garden design ideas

When designing a garden it is a good idea to have a style or theme in mind.

This could be a style such as creating an exotic garden or it could be related to the time of year when you want the garden to be at its best such as a summer garden.

See this section for some favourite garden styles...Garden design

Things to do in the garden

A month by month look at the work that needs to be done in the garden.

This section is a guide to the different jobs which are essential throughout the gardening year.

Jobs such as planting, taking cuttings, dividing perennials, mulching, rose care etc are all considered...Calendar of garden tasks

Other France travel sites

Please also visit France This Way (our parent site) for things to do in France near your selected gardens!