MySpot: How I Go to the Woods (Romania - Mogosoaia Palace III)

"How I Go to the Woods

Ordinarily, I go to the woods alone, 

with not a single friend, 

for they are all smilers and talkers and therefore unsuitable.

I don’t really want to be witnessed talking to the catbirds or hugging the old black oak tree. 

I have my way of praying, 

as you no doubt have yours. 

Besides, when I am alone I can become invisible. 

I can sit on the top of a dune as motionless as an uprise of weeds, 

until the foxes run by unconcerned. 

I can hear the almost unhearable sound of the roses singing.

If you have ever gone to the woods with me, I must love you very much."

Mary Oliver

MySpot: Green Cathedral of Summer

"And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, 

just as things grow in fast movies, 

I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer."

F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby

France, Loire Valley - Château de Villandry VII (Gardens)

The Château of Villandry, in the Centre Val de Loire region, is a Renaissance château especially known for its beautiful gardens. 

Keen on architecture, Jean Le Breton was also interested in the art of gardening. 

Times had changed. 

Feudal fortresses made way for delicate chateaux, 

ramparts became walls which now allowed one to gaze out over the surrounding landscape, 

the enclosed, utilitarian gardens of the Middle Ages made way for ornamental gardens, 

in a gentle transition between the house and its natural setting. 

Villandry was no exception to the new fashion. 

At the foot of the chateau, overlooking the River Cher, gardens were laid 

and their splendor already earned the estate a reputation outside the Loire Valley.

The acquisition of Villandry by Joachim Carvallo marked a return to their roots for the gardens. 

Already known for their beauty in the Renaissance, different owners successively transformed them, 

now into a formal garden, now a romantic garden. 

With a scientist’s meticulousness, Carvallo recreated gardens that were worthy of the restored chateau.

Ever since the construction of the Chateau of Villandry in 1532, outstanding gardens have embellished the building. 

The passage of time and changing fashions meant they underwent drastic changes in appearance. 

Archeological findings tell us how, in the Renaissance, there was a decorative kitchen garden at close proximity to the chateau.

In the 18th century, the grounds were enlarged and enriched with a formal garden, 

then an ornamental lake in the shape of a Louis XV mirror. 

France, Loire Valley - Château de Villandry III (The Water Garden)

Above the Ornamental Garden, at the far south of the estate, is the Water Garden. 

This boulingrin, or sunken garden, bordered with grassy banks known as glacis, 

consists of an ornamental pond at the centre in the form of a Louis XV mirror, 

embellished here and there with square parterres of lawn, 

a network of perpendicular avenues and four secondary ornamental ponds.

It's then surrounded by cloister of linden trees.

The present-day Water Garden dates from the early 20th century. 

The original ornamental pond was built when the gardens of Villandry were transformed into a jardin à la française (formal garden) 

in the 18th century. 

The redevelopment of the grounds in the 19th century in the romantic English style, 

led to the classical ornamental pond being replaced by one with more natural lines.

Drawing on 18th-century designs, Joachim Carvallo recreated the ornamental pond 

and gave this area the clear, regular appearance it has today.

France, Loire Valley - Château de Serrant V (The Woods)

"Let’s take our hearts for a walk in the woods and listen to the magic whispers of old trees."

Author Unknown

France, Loire Valley - Château de Serrant IV

The Serrant Castle is representative for the Renaissance-style architecture, and it's known for it's architectural unity. 

The austere and desolate exterior boasts a schist and tufa façade, two towers crowned with domes and an imposing moat. 

This study in schist and tuffeau stone emerged from its medieval foundations to a Renaissance palace in the 16th century.