The Château de Villandry, the last one to be built in the Loire Valley, is famous for its huge, luxurious gardens. They are so magnificent that tourists often confess that they don't remember the chateau itself, the gardens overshadowed everything.
Although the chateau is certainly worthy of attention. It is built on the site where the feudal fortress of Colombier once stood. In 1189, in the tower of this fortress, the French king Philippe-Auguste negotiated with his adversary, the English king Henry II. The negotiations ended with the signing of the "Peace Treaty of Colombier" in favour of Philippe-Auguste. In 1532, the new owner, Jean le Breton, built a French Renaissance style chateau, leaving the old foundations and donjon tower. The chateau differs from others in the area in that it was owned not by the king or his favourite, but by a major official - Le Breton was Minister of Finance under Francis I, superintendent during the construction of Chambord Castle, and ambassador to Rome.
There, in Rome, he became interested in gardening. He applied his knowledge by building a castle - at its foot, le Breton laid gardens, already then famous beyond the Loire Valley.
In the XVIII century, the estate was sold to the Marquis de Castellane, who rebuilt the building in the neoclassical style, and decorated the gardens in the English spirit. The property changed hands (including the ownership of Napoleon's brother Jerome Bonaparte). A new life began when the chateau was acquired by Joachim Carvalho.
Spanish doctor Carvalho bought Villandry in 1906, when the estate was in decline. The then owners were going to, if no one bought the castle, demolish it. Carvalho saved Villandry and has spent all his money on it ever since. He restored the former Renaissance look not only to the building, but also to the area around it.
A spacious "water garden" with swans, surrounded by lime alleys, sculpted hedges, four "love gardens"... All these beautiful and fragrant areas are on different levels (the view from the top, from the castle, is unforgettable). Carvalho's descendants, who still own the estate, continue to develop it: in 1970 the apothecary garden was opened, and in 2008 the "garden of the sun" on the highest terrace.
But perhaps the favourite part of the grounds is the vegetable garden. Ornamental flowerbeds (one cannot call them beds) of nine square plots of the vegetable garden are a real masterpiece of Villandry. Not only the geometric shapes but also the colour combinations of forty types of vegetables have been carefully thought out: blue leeks, red beetroot, jade green carrot leaves make an impression of a multi-coloured chessboard. The ornamental cabbage growing next to the roses is just as beautiful as the roses.
There are only nine gardeners working here, and they have plenty of work to do: since 2009, the vegetable garden has become organic - no pesticides are used, natural fertilisers are used to treat and nourish the plants, and weeding is done by hand.
In the souvenir shop you can buy seeds of local plants to try to grow pumpkins, poppies, forget-me-nots or the very same ornamental cabbage - they are lovely.
