Vasterival Printemps Didier Willery 1Vasterival Printemps Didier Willery 1
©Vasterival Printemps Didier Willery 1|Didier Willery
Le VasterivalThe garden of the four seasons

Le Vasterival the garden of the four seasons

Whether you come in the spring, summer, autumn or winter, you will undoubtedly be won over by the unique tableaux on display at Le Vasterival in Sainte-Marguerite-sur-Mer.

Take a tour

In good company

Exploring the garden with an enthusiastic gardener is a great opportunity. And it’s the only way to see Le Vasterival. On your own, you might get lost, miss out on small, hidden unknown species and above all, you wouldn’t hear all of the many anecdotes about the history of this amazing park.

In 1955, Princess Greta Sturdza fell in love with this maritime woodland. In the space of 50 years, she turned it into a cabinet of curiosities for the world’s biggest botanists.

Both

Wild and controlled

On the road leading to Ailly Lighthouse, turn off just before that site onto a small wooded road and delve into this small valley, down a long drive lined with beech trees. The entrance was designed by the princess: winding, hidden away, in a landscaped style… A self-taught enthusiast and force of nature, she created the entire garden, all by herself. Little by little, she covered 12 hectares of land, growing more than 10,000 species and varieties of plants.

You will move around along grassy and mossy paths, from which you can admire multiple plant tableaux. There are multiple “levels”: towering, majestic trees, with smaller trees in front, as well as bushes and ground cover plants. Everything here is controlled, and yet the end result is still wild and natural.

Great beauty

In any weather

The princess chose her species for their appearance, in many cases prioritizing plants which are well-suited to the climate, with gorgeous foliage, magnificent blooms and remarkable shapes and barks.

The most beautiful and impressive aspect is the garden’s ability to offer up different, varied sights in any weather. Over the seasons, its look changes completely. Rhododendrons in spring, hydrangeas in summer, maple trees in autumn and hellebore in winter: the plants are rotated throughout the year. They take it in turns to ensure you are always afforded elegant, balanced scenery. Contrast and harmony are the watchwords here. The way the garden plays with depth and perspective is all the more enjoyable to contemplate thanks to the ever-present callbacks to contrasting colours. Get out your cameras, because there’s plenty of subject matter here for fantastic pictures!

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