Happy Friday GPODers!
Yesterday we saw a pretty planting Cherry found on the streets of Old Montreal, today we’re continuing our tour of this city with a trip to a historic garden that is a living representation of the French roots of this Canadian city. Cherry is taking us Château Ramezay and its Governor’s Garden.
Chanced upon this garden in 2019 on my first visit to Montreal while on a walking tour of Montreal East and West. So naturally on our return visit this August, I had to go back and see it…
Back to the charming New France Governor’s Garden at Château Ramezay. It is designed by Robert Desjardins who says, “It’s layout offers a return to the 18th century and an opportunity to recall the beauty and usefulness of plants.” The garden is in formal French style and is divided into three equal sized sections: a kitchen garden, an orchard and a pleasure garden.
Thank you and I hope you and your readers enjoy this garden vicariously.
It wouldn’t be a French kitchen garden without an effortlessly elegant tuteur. The orange-colored wood stain on this one is a perfect contrast to the sea of green herbs and veggies that surround.
Of course, they’re even more wonderful when they are absolutely covered in a climbing, vining plant. And while that vine with stunning pops of red flowers could easy pass as an ornamental, it looks to be a scarlet runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus). Seeing as it was grown in English and early American gardens by the 1600s, it wouldn’t be a stretch to think the first governor or Montreal wanted some in his kitchen garden.
Another stunning edible with ornamental properties, Savoy cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. sabauda) had a long history in Europe and was even potentially named after a region in France (though it’s hard to pin down the exact origins of this fancy cabbage).
Aside from the traditionally French tuteurs, these Kitchen Garden containers are also quintessentially French. Known now as “Versailles boxes” these distinctively-designed planters were first created to easily move fruit trees at Versailles inside during colder months. Now they can be utilized to plant all kinds of tender plants and bring a palatial feel to your garden.
A garden emulating the formal French style is not complete without a litany of perfectly manicured hedges. Planting a beautiful arrangement of flowers within these hedges is one of the most beautiful ways to use these versatile garden elements.
A closer look at that planting, and you can see they have the same Rockin’® Fuchsia salvia (Salvia hybrid ‘BBSAL00301’, Zones 9–11 or as an annual) we saw in the plant combinations yesterday. Clearly a show-stopping plant, and one that pairs so wonderfully with a multitude of other colors and plants.
Vining plants also hearken back to old estates and European castles. With many clematis coming in that regal purple color, it’s absolutely fitting for the first governor.
When I visited Paris in 2018, I toured several parks and gardens throughout the city. One feature that filled my camera roll and still sticks out in my mind are the countless water fountains and features. While many can be found in the middle of a clearing with an elegant statue spraying water from its center, many more can be found just like this one: tucked away and immersed in a web of plants. I found these fountains to be much more mysterious and magical.
But it’s clear that, in this garden, everything has a touch of old-world magic. Even this very simple compost pile looks like something straight out of a fairytale.
Thank you for this incredible garden tour around Montreal, Cherry! I’m always eager to see where you’re taking us to next.
And if you’ve been exploring gardens this summer, we’d like to see them! Follow the directions below to submit your photos, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
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