n°15 Le Jardin du Château Bellenau

Saint-Côme-du-Mont

Somewhere between romanticism and modernism - the creation of a dreamer and botanist of the 19th Century

A young student of medicine, Pierre-Joseph La Fosse (1828-1897), started this endeavour at the age of 22, and spent the rest of his life adding to it. Following the windings of the Douve river he created a network of canals and lakes, scattered with islands accessible by either boat or footbridges and gangways.

He constructed grottos and caverns, and a Japanese garden which is overlooked by a tower offering a panoramic view of the park.  But mainly, he planted exotic plants, palms, ferns sequoias, and cedars which are flourishing today a century and a half later on.   To visit Bellenau is thus an irresistible time machine trip back to the 19th century.

On 16-17 June, the park of Château Bellenau will welcome the first edition of  « Cotentin côté cœur et jardins » the proceeds of which will help to create a therapeutic garden at the Valognes hospital : plant fair, animations and concert. 

 

Collections

• pine trees
• cordylines
• palms
• ferns

Outstanding plants

• evergreen oak (Quercus ilex), one of the biggest to be found in the region
• sequoia
• ginkgo
• araucaria
• bald cypress (Taxodium distichum)
• loquat (Eriobotrya japonica)
• Trachycarpus fortunei

Surface

• 2.5 acres