The Jardin de la Ferme Fleurie, Dordogne is a lovely colourful garden

Visit The Jardin de la Ferme Fleurie

Tucked away in an attractive spot in the Dordogne Valley the Ferme Fleurie adds a vibrant burst of colour to its verdant surroundings. The garden is one kilometer from Vitrac and close to La Roque Gageac.

Explore the Jardin de la Ferme Fleurie

The gardens of the Ferme Fleurie in the Dordogne grew up gradually around a working farm. The current owners Martine and Alain have developed the garden over the last twenty years but when one of the farm buildings was redeveloped as an auberge in 1991 Martine transformed the vegetable garden that was next to the buildings into a colourful garden for the pleasure of their guests.

Development of the garden continued and now covers more than 5000m2. A tour of the garden starts in the lovely courtyard where pots of shrubs and annuals and climbing plants on the walls of the buildings make this a very colourful start to the garden visit.

Next to the courtyard is a large garden where a large lawned area is surrounded by hedges of clipped box, topiaries and wide beds filled with flowering trees and shrubs. This leads to an enclosed area where a small pond is surrounded by a tall screen of trees and shrubs and a gentle sloping hillside is filled with exotic plants such as palm trees, canna lilies, agaves and yuccas and interspersed with flowering trees and shrubs. This area is a real highlight of the garden.

From here the path leads through a shady part of the garden where hostas and ferns play a large part and then a winding path leads uphill and is edged with grasses, hydrangeas and orleanders.

The garden continues through the woods which hold a collection of animal like statues created by Martine in her spare time in the winter. Then you can see the small truffle wood and the wooden tobacco barns of the farm.

The path leads back down to the main part of the garden passing by the fruit trees of the orchard and then under the shade of a large cherry tree hostas, azaleas and rhododendrums grow.

The final and most recent part of the garden is on the edge of the driveway to the farm through a rose arch and has a mass of flowering herbaceous plants such as rudbeckias and zinnias.

The Jardin de la Ferme Fleurie is open every day from the 15 May to 15 September from 10.00 to 12.00 abd 14.00 to 18.00. Prices are 6 euros for adults and 4 euros for 12-17s. The address is: Le Jardin de la Ferme Fleurie, Le Colombier, 24250 La Roque Gageac.

Where to visit nearby

The village of La Roque Gageac is classified as one of the "most beautiful villages of France". It has exotic plants planted throughout the village which makes it especially attractive.