BOTANICAL IMMERSION IN THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN OF THE DOMAINE DU RAYOL

In the Maures mountain range, the Domaine du Rayol awaits you to discover its “Mediterranean Garden”. Owned by the Conservatoire du littoral [Coastline Conservatory], this Eden was designed and created by the botanist and landscape gardener Gilles Clément to offer you a planetary journey through a series of landscapes inspired by areas of the world that share the Mediterranean climate.

AN ESTATE TURNED EXCEPTIONAL GARDEN

Before becoming an exceptional garden, the Domaine du Rayol has long been an estate.

First it was the businessman Alfred Courmes who, in 1910, had his farm and main residence built on this headland overlooking the Bay du Figuier.

Sold in part in 1925 to a property company, the estate became the property of the famous aeronautics constructor Henri Potez in 1940, who transformed it into the “Sea Hotel”. He was forced to take refuge in a free zone because of the war.

Under these conditions, the estate was abandoned for a long time before being bought in 1989 by the Conservatoire du littoral.

The landscape gardener Gilles Clément put forward the project to reinvent the estate’s gardens. The Conservatoire du littoral partnered with the Association du Domaine du Rayol, thus allowing better management of the site.

The Domaine has welcomed over 1.5 million visitors since it opened in 1989 and has been awarded the “Qualité Tourisme” [Tourism Quality] and “Jardin Remarquable” [Remarkable Garden] labels.

➥ Find out more

Voir cette publication sur Instagram
Une publication partagée par Domaine du Rayol (@domainedurayol)

Voir cette publication sur Instagram

Une publication partagée par Domaine du Rayol (@domainedurayol)

A BOTANICAL JOURNEY WITHOUT BORDERS

From Australia to South Africa, via central Chile, the California coast and even simply the Mediterranean basin, “The Mediterranean Garden” offers visitors a botanical voyage through a series of landscapes inspired by the world’s regions with a Mediterranean climate!

To broaden this journey a little more, the garden’s designer Gilles Clément has added landscapes with characteristics similar to the Mediterranean climate, but differentiated by the rain system, such as sub-tropical America or New Zealand.

The garden is tended according to three major concepts by the famous landscape gardener: the garden in motion, the third landscape and the planetary garden.

These concepts allow for making the visit even more astounding and unforgettable than it already was!

➥ Find out more

EXPLOITING DIVERSITY WITHOUT ALTERING IT

On the gardening side, the estate uses particularly original techniques.

These practices are gardening principles in a Mediterranean environment, suggested by the botanist and garden designer Gilles Clément.

This means respecting the natural cycle of all plants, reducing and even abolishing watering, using species compatible with the climate and the soil in order to limit maintenance tricks, but moreover not to harm the earth.

This is an entire philosophy, for which the ultimate aim consists in seeking how to exploit diversity without altering it.

Voir cette publication sur Instagram
Une publication partagée par Domaine du Rayol (@domainedurayol)

VISITS AND ACTIVITIES FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY

The Mediterranean Garden offers you an enriching walk thanks to the company of a specialist guide who is passionate about botany. All the family will have the choice of the type of visit desired: unaccompanied, themed, guidedor by way of exhibitions.

While the Domaine du Rayol is open all year round, gardening enthusiasts can also discover it in a completely different way: through workshops or training courses about plants, gardens and biodiversity.

The younger members of the family can also find something to enjoy by taking part in family workshops or fun and educational activities in the garden: “Hands in the earth”, “Feet in the water”, etc. At every moment, young and old alike can learn about ecological gardening and come to know more about the different environments that form this 20-hectare estate.

Discover the visits and activities at the Domaine du Rayol

« Contrary to most gardens, created with a view to achieving a predicted image (because they are sketched out), the Rayol gardens are continually changing and growing. As if research, as an active principle, were always to dominate the layout. As if the education that must be related to it were to supplant ornamentation and simple strolls » Gilles Clément, « Une école buissonnière »