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Henri Le Sidaner’s gardens in Gerberoy
Throughout the years, Henri Le Sidaner transformed a neglected orchard into a wonderful full-scale masterpiece of around 43,000 square feet. From the rose garden, wall-walk, tower, pergola, balustrade and statues to the little studio in the former barn where he made his sketches, the artist conceived it all minutely.
Today, those gardens are labelled as “remarkable gardens”. They are separate from each other, spread out over three storeys and connected to each other by steep trails winding through the trees.
The white garden
In his front yard, painter Henri Le Sidaner created the White garden. He planted some Dianthus plumarius (common pinks) of only the white flower variety, a mix of white climbing roses and white tree roses whose flowers are above 3 and 4 feet high, at eye level. To top it off, white hydrangeas crown this beautiful monochrome garden...
The terraces of Italian influence
On the ruins of the former fortified castle, Henri Le Sidaner set up a splendid garden of Italian influence with three layers of terraces, inspired by a study trip to the Borromeo islands.
The rose garden
Located above the terraces of Italian influence, the rose garden is made up of a collection of climbing roses in red and pink shades. Henri Le Sidaner chose "Dorothy Perkins" and "Excelsa" climbing roses for their resistance to the local weather conditions and diseases. York’s white rose and Gallica rose, with their delicate fragrance, are part of that sumptuous setting. Most of the climbing roses planted by the painter are now more than 100 years-old.
The yellow and blue garden and the Temple of Love
The belvedere above the countryside overlooks the Bray region. The tower, ornamented by a gazebo, imitates the Temple of Love at the Petit Trianon in Versailles; and the figure of Love is similar to the “Putto with Dolphin” by Verrocchio, visible at the Uffizi Museum in Florence, Italy.
The tower has been trellised with rose bushes and climbing roses which grow along the six wooden pillars supporting the dome. Henri Le Sidaner himself drew the blueprint of this Temple, which he built with the help of his friends from Versailles.
To draw this visit to an end, let us turn back in time to discover the garden at the time of its conception, as Henri Le Sidaner pictured it in his mind…
The gardens are carefully tended by the dedicated association "Henri Le Sidaner en son jardin de Gerberoy" and by landscape gardener Guillaume Duhamel, who gives them a hand.