
Cabbage beds at Villandry, France
Old School Gardener
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This is a lovely image and a true inspiration.
From memory these are clipped box hedges. And they do look good. But there are downsides with box. Firstly slugs love them, secondly they succumb to disease and thirdly it takes an army of gardeners to clip them. A similar, slightly more relaxed appearance can be achieved with hyssop, myrtle, lavender. Or you could train step-over apples? All these latter are productive as well as nice to look at. They flower, so will attract pollinators to the plot.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply, To be picky, I think the kitchen gardens are 16th century and classed as Renaissance, so both Baroque and Rococo would not be accurate terms, though I understand what you mean about ‘decoration without functional use’ in your tweet. In my kitchen garden, like you, I try to grow stuff to eat and look good! π
Do you know what the plants are that make the borders of the beds? I’d LOVE to add that look to my raised beds made of tires!
Hi- probably box (Buxus sempervirens). small leaved evergreen shrub, ideal for clipping/topiary. An alternative which is faster growing is shrubby honeysuckle- Lonicera nitida. π
Thank you so much!
OK- good luck π
Looks like Buxus sempervirens it is – for my hardiness zone! π