I spent most of yesterday sorting out a computer upgrade, a messed up router and hanging with my little people (who had a holiday from school), so I didn’t get to posting this garden that was (in my mind) so perfect for the day.
So it goes, a day late and a dollar short…I share with you Le Jardins de Sericourt – a beautiful garden whose design inspiration is largely about rememberance of our troops and their sacrifices.
I wish I had known of this garden when we spent a month in Belgium in 2014 — it was so nearby and we practically drove right by it as we escaped the drudgery that is Amiens (sadly, the most uninspiring French city I have ever visited!). It was created in the 1980’s and so it is remarkably young as gardens of this sort go. In an area (Northern France) so marked with the memories of major battles and loss of life in both World War I and II, the themes of war and rememberance seem very appropriate.
The “jardin guerrier” (warrior garden) is inspired by China’s terracotta army and uses yew trees that have been shaped into ordered columns. Elsewhere, there are craters planted with red poppies in rememberance of the nearby battlefields of Somme as well as other features that are characterisitc of most all beautiful and stately gardens in Europe.
If you are visiting, online reviews give poor marks to the cafe onsite (but high marks to the nursery!… Its all about priorities right?). And I can tell you that Amiens is easily missed but perhaps Arras is a much better bet. Have you visited this garden and the area? If so, do let us know what else is nearby and worth a visit. –
– Rochelle
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Images by Oliver Baquet by CC.