Lilac Air

"Let us linger awhile in the wonderful old Lilac walk. 

It is a glory of tender green and shaded amethyst and grateful hum of bees, the very voice of Spring. 

Every sense is gratified, even that of touch, 

when the delicate plumes of the fragrant Lilac blossoms brush your cheek as you walk through its path; 

there is no spot of fairer loveliness than this Lilac walk in May. 

It is a wonderful study of flickering light and grateful shade in midsummer...

The very spirit of the Lilacs seems visible, 

etched with a purity of touch that makes them sentient, speaking beings, instead of silent plants."

Alice Morse Earle - In Lilac Tide

France, Loire Valley - Château de Cheverny IV (The Interior)

The chateau you see today is as it was originally built, 

and the feeling of stepping back in time is only enhanced by a visit inside where it is impressively decorated and furnished. 

As with many of the Loire chateaux, ladies played a major part in its construction and decoration 

with Marguerite Gaillard (Mrs Hurault) administrating the building work and her daughter completing the decoration.   

The interior reflects a living history of the family generations. 

The rooms and apartments are especially richly furnished, and reflect a highly refined style, with gilded and decorative furniture, 

numerous paintings and priceless tapestries all through the chateau, 

and walls sometimes decorated in vibrant colours. 

(Remember to keep looking up - some of the decorated ceilings are among the highlights.)

The wonderful range of furniture and interior decorations, are all remarkably well preserved.

The private apartments on the first floor convey the French ‘art de vivre’ (art of living), 

with rooms such as the birth chamber, the nursery, the private dining room and others.

It is generally agreed that Cheverny is the most beautifully furnished of all the castles in the Loire Valley, 

and you will see numerous beautiful examples of 17th century furniture and wall coverings, 

as well as ornaments, clothes and other small objects that help bring the visit to life.

France, Loire Valley - Château de Cheverny III (The Gardens)

The Cheverny Castle has a truly picturesque vegetable garden 

which offers an array of colours, textures and tastes across its wide range of flowers and vegetables.

Each season displays its own colours, products and fragrances.

France, Loire Valley - Château de Cheverny II (The Gardens)

The Château is set upon an ocean of green lawns and it's surrounded by an English-style park. 

The gardens and the park at Cheverny are vast 

and include the formal gardens and water features that we expect of a Loire Valley castle, 

as well as less formal areas of woodland. 

The ornamental garden, called The Apprentice’s Garden, covers an area once occupied by a formal French garden.

Situated between the château and the Orangery it boasts a splendid view over the park.

At the castle's left side is the English-style park, where Paul de Vibraye acclimated between 1820-1860 some rare trees. 

The park holds an interesting collection of trees including giant redwoods, 

cedars (a magnificent cedar alley more than 500m long), lindens and lime trees.