On this five day tour we will discover how James & Helen Basson, of the award winning Scape Designs, create beautiful gardens requiring minimum watering, and we are honoured that they will be joining us to show two of their recent projects and introduce us to the legendary Filipppi nursery near Montpellier, where experimental techniques in dry gardening have transformed our understanding of Mediterranean gardening practise.
The landscape of Provence remains essentially unchanged: medieval hill towns, rise among olive groves
and vineyards, and fields of lavender and sunflowers soak up the sunshine. Dusty roads fringed with pines
loop through the jagged Alpilles, giving way to banks of wild cistus, rosemary and thyme – plants typical of the
upland garrigue. Hidden behind old iron gates or an avenue of ancient plane trees, old country estates have
been elegantly rejuvenated in recent years by contemporary designers, creating sensuous gardens, each in its
own way responding to the spirit of place and the designer’s eye. Avignon, on the banks of the wide and tranquil
river Rhone lies at the cultural and historic heart of Provence. The 5-star Hotel d’Europe, with its long-established
reputation as a hotel of great style and comfort, just a step away from the Rhône and the towering walls of the
Palais des Papes is our carefully chosen base for the tour.
Dates:
24 June 2021
Prices:
All prices listed are per person
Twin/double share: from £3890
Double room for sole use supplement: £490
Deposit: £250