FONTENAY ABBEY

The remarkable gardens of Fontenay Abbey, redesigned between 1906 and 1913, have truly contributed to the abbey's status as one of the must-see monuments during a visit to the region. It is an ideal place to recharge your batteries and soak up the atmosphere of this almost one thousand year old place. The gardens were designed to highlight the Cistercian Romanesque architecture of the abbey, and several ornamental fountains were created, recalling the monastery's motto "Spiritus dei feberatur super aquas" (The spirit of God floated on the waters). Here, as in many monastic sites, water has a major place: in front of the gatehouse, in the center of a piece of lawn decorated with boxwood cones, it gushes out in the middle of a basin, and further on, between the forge and the guesthouse, cascades down from a water buffet before calming down in a large rectangular trout pond. The water also descends from a super staircase to fill the classic ^18th century round pool. Composed of 9 spaces installed on 2 ha, the gardens of the Abbey of Fontenay are arranged in four major sites:

Les Grands Jardins, where you can admire a wide variety of shrubs, a rare onondaga viburnum that blooms between May and June, as well as a yew tree and a boxwood tree that are... 120 years old!

The Jardins de Saint-Bernard, with a honey locust tree with golden foliage, a caramel tree, whose leaves, in autumn, give off a pleasant smell of caramel, and a large-leaf lime tree that is over 30 meters tall.

The Gardens of the Entrance Court, known for their variety of roses (Ghislaine de Féligonde rose, Gallique rosebush). It is also here that you can admire the great plane tree, which dominates the abbey from the top of its 36 meters. Its circumference is 5.40 meters! It was given by Buffon to the last abbot of Fontenay and was planted in 1780.

The Jardin des Simples, laid out according to the works of Hildegarde de Bingen, abbess of the ^12th century, is composed of medicinal, aromatic, condiment and dye plants, separated into "hot" and "cold" groups according to their properties. The hot plants are rich, powerful, full of virtues. They give strength and stimulate the body and mind. The "cold" plants have a more localized effectiveness. In addition to learning a lot of information about these medicinal practices of the time, you will be able to admire and learn to recognize basil, dill, fennel, mint, oregano or chervil.