Les Jardins du Grand Courtoiseau

A garden restoration project. Initially a XIIth century fortified town, Le Grand Courtoiseau received its current manor shape in the early XVIIIth century. In this new form, passing through generations, the manor belonged for a time to the famous miniaturist Jean-Baptiste Augustin. The winter garden and the greenhouse were created at the end of the XIXth century for its then owner: Augustin Cornu de la Fontaine de Coincy, a traveller and naturalist. The estate was later the property of deputy Alfred-Léon Girault-Richard and more recently of writer Hervé Bazin, thus numerous famous politicians and writers visited Le Grand Courtoiseau. The restoration project only started in 1991, with the aim of reviving the spirit of the times and of giving the manor’s inhabitants self-sufficiency with a kitchen garden, an orchard and a pleasure garden. Using the moats and much space, still keeping in harmony with the architecture of the site, a variety of gardens, all different, were created. A deft arrangement of shrub varieties, scented flowers and basins livened up with fountains subtly guides visitors’ footsteps on a trail of fragrance, following in the rhythm of the water’s whisper and the run of seasons. The Faun’s garden (“Jardin du Faune”), designed with a double geometrical perspective, groups numerous rose species with a blackberry bush plantation enclosed in a yew hedge that prevents the eye from immediately discovering the lateral sections of the garden, displaying old roses, perennials and collection shrubs. The Italian garden (“Jardin italien”), within a moat, is inspired by Italian Renaissance gardens. On both sides of a line-up of basins, it hosts humid climate plants and is overhung with scented and colourful flowers. The exotic garden (“Jardin Exotique”), in the second moat, is a tribute to the naturalist who first established a small greenhouse there. Bamboos, shrubs and other abundantly flowering and colourful plants protect the greenhouse, by a shady bank. The park, stretching before the manor, is planted with a collection of trees. There is an underwood along one of its sides providing enchanting smaller paths for a walk leading to the collection of Japanese maple trees. On both sides of an avenue of linden trees planted in the XVIIIth century are the “Jardin des Antiques” and the “Jardin des Fruitiers”, a peaceful orchard offering a delightful view. Peace, mildness and the mellow murmur of water will accompany your steps through this garden, which is carefully kept following natural methods. The manor is listed in the supplementary inventory of historical monuments.