Le Jardin de la Pellerine; a garden in the north of France

Visit Le Jardin de la Pellerine

The Jardin de la Pellerine is situated between Fougeres and Mayenne in the north west of France.

Covering five acres Le Jardin de la Pellerine, which was designated a Jardin Remarquable by the French Ministry of Culture in 2004, is a treat.

Explore the Jardin de la Pellerine

One of the best parts of the garden, the 'Allee des Quatre Saisons', has a series of small gardens separated by half height hedges allowing a view of the whole but giving structure and separation to each part. Planted with lots of blue flowering plants the end result is beautiful.

The garden is built around the lovely French farmhouse of the owners, Sylvie and Alain Douinot and includes a yellow garden, an English garden, a blue garden; lily pond, the four season garden mentioned above and much more.

The garden was originally a private garden which grew and grew and in the 1980s was first opened to the public. When the 'Jardin Remarquable' or 'remarkable garden' classification was first introduced in France in 2004 the Jardin de la Pellerine was one of the first gardens to receive the award.

Sylvie is an artistic and it is easy to see her artistic flair contributing to the different settings she has created in the garden. Water is present in a number of different parts of the garden and various water loving plants such as hostas and gunneras shine out from their moist positions.

Other key plants used in the garden include Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' , Monarda 'Scorpion', Veronica longifolia, Hosta 'Sun and Substance' and Stipa gigantea. Clipped hedges and clipped box spheres and shapes provide structure in the garden as well as various sculptures, urns and fountains.

Jardin de la Pellerine garden guide:

The garden is open from the 1 May to 30 October, Thursdays and Fridays 10.00 to 18.30, weekends and bank holidays 14.00 to 18.30. Other times are possible by appointment.

Address: Le Jardin de la Pellerine, La Larderie, 53220 La Pellerine

Entry to the garden costs 8 euros and is free to under 14s.

The garden is situated to the north east of Rennes in the Pays de la Loire.

When you have finished visiting the garden there is a small cafe offering tea, coffee etc allowing you to pause a little longer and enjoy the peaceful ambience of the garden.

Gardens to visit nearby

Garden lovers will love the department of Mayenne. It has one the best departments in bloom with prizes in 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2009 - a prize shared with only about 15 of the 96 mainland French departments.

5 of its communes have been awarded "4 fleurs" (the top grade) for the villages in bloom label. These are Coudray, Saint-Lout-du-Gast, La Cropte, Juvigné and Chateau-Gontier.

As well as the Jardin de la Pellerine there are four other gardens to visit in the Mayenne department: the Jardins des Renaudies; the Jardin secret du Grand Boulay; and the Jardin de l'Ermitage.

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