Gardens party#4 - the Pré Curieux water garden in Evian

jmjolivet (49)in #gardens • 6 years ago

I take you today on the shores of Lake Leman to visit the Pré Curieux water garden in Evian, Haute Savoie, France. Yes, it is the city where the famous Evian spring flows, whose bottles can be found all over the world.

The history of this garden is linked to the history of water and the city of Evian since the house and the estate of the current garden belonged to Gustave Giraud, the founder of the Evian water company in the 1870s.

This garden has many other attractions; first of all, it is one of the rare grounds accessible to the public on the shores of Lake Geneva. It is accessible only by taking the boat Agrion, an electro-solar boat, which allows you to admire the shores of the lake during the course that leads from the casino pontoon to Evian to the Pré Curieux. Finally, it is one of the few gardens in Europe to address the importance of wetlands for water quality and to actively communicate to promote their role in the ecosystem.

Created in 2002, the Pré Curieux water garden extends over 3.5 hectares around a charming colonial-style house dating from 1870, remarkably well restored. Laurent Daune, landscape architect, designer of the park, and Philippe Hébert, lighting designer have created all 3 parts of the garden, maintaining the character of the site and organizing them around the different ecosystems linked to water.

The first steps lead us to an architectural garden of ponds that are home to Koi carp sneaking between water lilies and potamots. The other areas are more natural and are articulated around ponds, streams, wet meadows and marshes. The whole forms a vegetal palette ranging from the Mediterranean atmosphere to the lake flora, from fruit trees to fresh and humid meadows, up to a small marsh.

Among the flora and fauna typical of wet mountain areas, are several remarkable species: Virginia tulip tree, larch groves, chestnut trees, weeping beech trees, century-old lime trees, birch trees Fruit: pear trees in palisade and apple trees Shrubs: mahonias, magnolias, rhododendrons, column charmilles

The fauna has quickly invited itself since the creation of the garden and observers have seen the arrival of new species each year: spotted salamanders, green frogs, kites, beavers...
No phytosanitary products are used for garden maintenance.