The following is a re-issuing of a post I did on my old site, since I just published my photos from my trip to The Cabot Gardens (look under Garden Photos on the top menu) and thought a little background might be useful.
In 2011 I went on a “mini-break holiday” to Lamalbaie, Québec, with stops in Baie St-Paul and St-Irinée. The main focus of the trip was to visit “Le jardin de quatre-vents” (http://www.etpanorama.com/Cabot_Garden_demo/Cabot_Garden_Intro.html), or Cabot Gardens, which is on the outskirts of Lamalbaie. It is a private garden that only allows visitors four times per summer, but if you can get in on those days (you have to reserve tickets months ahead of time), it is well worth the trip. The whole region is absolutely beautiful and this particular garden is quite remarkable in its scope, design, and creative plantings.
There is a long, interesting history of the property that I won’t go into here, but the most recent proprietor is Francis Cabot, and he has been revitalizing it since the nineties. He has not only planted thousands of flowering plants, trees, bushes etc, but has created many garden “rooms” that each has its own atmosphere. There are very formal “rooms” walled in with severely coiffed hedges, some with simple plantings that offer a sort of ‘zen’ feeling, and other areas that are more wild and relaxed. Among others there is a rose garden, an all-white garden, a kitchen garden, an herb garden, a vegetable garden and many water features, including a large pond and a spring-fed swimming pool. In fact, water is a constant presence in the gardens, which adds peacefulness and warmth to the experience of wandering through it. Many areas have been laid out specifically to allow the admirer to see a particular view, often a statue, that is best and sometimes only seen from a certain spot.
My favourite area of the property is a Japanese-inspired garden that has a lovely little tea house in it. The garden is approached via a steep, uneven moss-covered stone staircase, deliberately built to heighten your concentration as you come closer to the bottom of the ravine where the house sits. All of a sudden you feel as though you’ve dropped into a tropical jungle. It’s quite amazing.
I could go on, but you get the idea. Check it out and go if you can! The only drawback is that the visits are guided and are on a strict schedule so there’s no dawdling in the areas that you might want to dawdle in. However, the guide was very informative (in French only!) and it was certainly interesting to hear the story of this incredible estate.
Im Mitternacht from Ruckert-Lieder by Mahler sung by Thomas Hampson.
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