Creation of the garden

CREATION OF THE GARDEN BY JEAN-MARC DE PAS, A HYMN TO NATURE

In 1985, while still a student at the Ecole Boulle and the Beaux-Arts de Paris, Jean-Marc de Pas dreamt of a large sculpture garden, to share this place around his thoughts and his vocation as a sculptor: he imagined, drew up the plans and created this garden, around the 17th and 18th century buildings.  Since 1988, he has planted almost 7,000 trees and shrubs.

His initial training in cabinetmaking has given him a solid knowledge of trees: alignments, arched walkways, openings to the sky, a circular boxwood labyrinth at the center of a circle of birch trees, a circle of redwoods, a large perimeter walkway, a planted cloister of bower trees, all surround ancient trees, some of which are remarkable, such as a 17th-century chestnut tree and two-hundred-year-old plane trees.

The landscape sculptor began by redesigning the contours of the garden, creating a plant architecture, "the walls of the rooms and their structures", which would serve as "pedestals" for his sculptures.

Between 1988 and 1991, he carried out the first structural work and plantings (pond, windbreak paths, future lime tree nave, circle of birch and redwood trees...), starting with the creation of the boxwood labyrinth, the heart of the park and the starting point for the other symbolic spaces. In 1991, he planted the great peripheral alley, the frame of the painting in which he invites us to wander.

In 1993, he created an association to help him open and share the garden with the public.

In 1995, he planted the cloister with hornbeams, with the help of his first integration project. Four hornbeams per pillar, supported by ash canes, form the arcaded structure that follows the rhythm of the kitchen garden wall. The circle of redwoods at the rear of the château in the clearing dates from 1997.

Seventy of his works punctuate a poetic, symbolic walk through various landscaped areas: the pond and its island, the boxwood labyrinth, garden of the cosmos, the circle of redwoods, wind rose, the plant cloister of the four seasons.

This garden, conducive to reverie, is in itself the artist's "great work", allowing us to enter into his relationship with time and space. His sculptures are not installed by chance; they are an integral part of the garden, underlining the symbolism of each space, inhabiting it with their delicate presence.

A hymn to life and nature, the site welcomes almost 15,000 visitors a year.

The garden was awarded the "Remarkable Garden" label by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication in 2014, in recognition of the original creative work, the quality of the welcome and maintenance by the managing association.