Le Parc du Bois des Moutiers, a garden in the north of France

Visit Le Parc du Bois des Moutiers

The Parc du Bois des Moutiers is close to Dieppe on the north coast of France. It is an English-style garden.

Explore le Parc du Bois des Moutiers

The house of the Parc du Bois des Moutiers was created for Guillaume Mallet by Sir Edwin Lutyens and is built in the Arts and Crafts style for which Lutyens is reknowned. To help him with the garden he collaborated with Gertrude Jekyll as he did quite often.

The result is a wonderful garden and park with the added benefit that the 12 hectares are in a peaceful valley running down to the sea. Another benefit is the acid soil which allowed the planting of numerous rare species including Himalayan rhododendrons, Chinese Azaleas and more. The Normandy climate means that these have grown magnificently too and there are rhododendrons which are 10 meters high.

I visited the Bois des Moutiers at the end of September and they were beautiful; the trees (including a lot of Japanese maples) were just begining to colour for autumn. In spring though the garden must be incredible with the numbers of magnolias, azaleas and rhododendrons to see.

The park also has a lot of roses and hydrangeas and so summer too offers a lot to see.

Near to the house are beautifully planted flower borders full of perennials, roses and small shrubs. The colour scheme is predominantly blue and white with accents of pink.

For me this magnificent pergola planted with roses and many other climbing plants was one of the highlights.

Parts of the garden have a very English 'country garden' feel and much of the garden is given over to a beautiful English style park which is filled with rhododendrons, azaleas, camilleas, hydrangeas and Acers.

The beautiful combination of a Lutyens home and a Jekyll garden means that the house and gardens have featured in many leading magazines including Elle Decoration, Vogue Decoration and Country Life.

Le Parc du Bois des Moutiers garden guide

The Bois des Moutiers is open every day from the 15 March to the 15 November. The ticket office is open from 10.00 to 12.00 and 14.00 to 18.00 but if you have your tickets you can stay in the park from 10am until 8pm.

Tickets cost 11 euros for adults in May to September and 10 euros the rest of the year. Under 7s are free and 7 to 15 year olds pay 5 euros.

This garden is situated at Varengeville near Dieppe on the Normandy coast.

Address: Le Bois des Moutiers, Route de l'église, 976119 Varengeville sur Mer

Gardens to visit nearby

South of the Parc du Bois des Moutiers gardens is the lovely rainbow garden of the Chateau de Bosmelet. Here vegetables, fruit and flowers have been organised into a rainbow colour scheme. The garden is the inspiration for a gold-medal winning Chelsea flower show garden they created.

This part of France is a treat for garden lovers and the very stylish Jardins Agapanthe are also nearby. The gardens keep to a narrow colour spectrum with green, white and blue dominating and different shades and textures adding drama.

You can find more local travel ideas in the North West France guide,