Scents and colors, gardens from here and elsewhere
Domaine Joly-De Lotbinière, a “garden of the senses” in Quebec
Audio 02:30
The "lovers' nest" in the garden of Domaine Joly-De Lotbinière, in Sainte-Croix, Quebec.
© Leane Vezina
By: Pascale Guericolas
3 mins
Nestled on a point that juts out into the St. Lawrence River not far from Quebec City, the Domaine Joly-De Lotbinière ranks as one of the most beautiful gardens in this French-speaking province of Canada.
The presence of nearby water mitigates the harshness of winter and allows fragile species to thrive.
This site, already occupied by the natives nearly 4500 years ago, became the property of lords of the time of New France.
One of the last heirs, fond of horticulture, turned it into a romantic garden at the end of the 19th century and a foundation continues the tradition today.
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"
I'm taking you to see our big giant.
»
The giant mentioned by Hélène Leclerc, director of the Domaine Joly-De Lotbinière foundation, is a black walnut tree, very rare north of the American border.
“
It takes three to be able to go around the trunk.
»
It was Sir Henri-Gustave de Lotbinière, heir to the estate and ecologist before his time, who planted these trees to promote the biodiversity of the forest 140 years ago: "
When he told his colleagues that he wanted to plant 10,000 black walnuts, one of his colleagues wrote to him
: "You will not even have enough wood to make a jewelry box for your wife. They did not believe in his project
".
Respecting the initial layout of the place offers new perspectives on nature or on the summer pavilion of the Lotbinière family, in the pure romantic tradition of the end of the 19th century.
Here, the emphasis is also on public education: “
It's through our activities that we find ourselves much more popular, as we have 22 or 23 varieties of tomatoes.
Varieties that people do not know but they come and discover them
”.
Unique varieties in Quebec
The garden offers nearly 3,000 varieties of plants to visitors, a veritable open-air natural science museum for this professional forestry technician, who is surveying the estate for the first time.
“
I live in eastern Quebec, there is much less tree diversity.
Here, there are really a lot of them, and trees that there are not in Quebec.
There are many trees that come from outside.
The size too, the trees are big and tall.
And there is a particular climate too, which makes for good growth for the trees.
»
Rich in its rare varieties, the garden also emphasizes the sensations that the plants provide, according to Hélène Leclerc: “
Here it is really the garden of the senses.
You have mugwort which is grey-bluish, it is coca-cola mugwort.
I invite you to take her in your arms, pet her, smell the scent of coca-cola on the mugwort
”.
Taste, touch, contemplate, feel, so many sensations offered by the Joly-De Lotbinière estate to the public, to the great pleasure of this young woman: "
It gives me the impression of being in Europe at the moment, an impression of greatness and wealth, it is ultra beautiful.
A bit like the garden of Versailles...
”
Managed by a foundation for nearly 25 years, the Domaine Joly-De Lotbinière wants to be an open window on nature for Quebecers in search of beauty and timeless travel.
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