Thursday, April 10, 2014

A Visit to Andre´ Eve's Rose Garden in France

 
Photograph by Annemarie Gendre-Peter

It is always a bit thrilling to connect with readers in far away places. 

Recently, Annemarie Gendre-Peter who lives near the grand palace of Versailles in France emailed me pictures of the visit that she, and her little Corgi dog named Nancy, made one summer not to long ago, to the garden of renowned French rose breeder Andre´ Eve.

Nurseryman, landscape designer and rose expert extraordinaire; Andre´ Eve is less well known here in North America, and so I asked Annemarie if I might share her pictures of his garden.

Photograph by Annemarie Gendre-Peter

Andre´Eve lives in a modest terraced house in the town of Pithiviers, fifty miles southwest of Paris. A narrow passageway leads between the old stone houses to M. Eve's rose garden where he has amassed an remarkable collection of over 500 roses, many of them rare and historic cultivars.

The garden is not open to the public, and so for Annemarie, receiving an invitation to visit was a great honour. She wrote to me that:

 "Andre´ Eve is an interesting man. I think he is not keen on being famous (although he is). He is happy with his work and likes people who share his passion for gardening and roses. As an example, I found a very nice rose in his garden (Sheherazade) he had never sold. It is a just trial variety of rose, he said. I told him I would be delighted to plant this rose in my garden. Two years later, he sent me the rose through one of his colleagues I know. I was very touched."


Nancy whose full kennel name is 'Dragonjoy Empress in Black'. Nancy was born in Bologna, Italy out of true Welsh Corgis. Annemarie also has a second Corgi named Shu-Shu.

This is Nancy. Annemarie also wrote to me that:

"Both Andre´ Eve and his wife love dogs and cats. They are both older now and it is not possible for them to keep a dog of their own, but Mme. Eve brought water for Nancy and both enjoyed her very much."

And now, here are AnneMarie's own pictures of Andre´ Eve's rose garden:


Photograph by Annemarie Gendre-Peter

Photograph by Annemarie Gendre-Peter

Photograph by Annemarie Gendre-Peter

A little clay figure sits in a shaded alcove in the garden's stone walls.

Photograph by Annemarie Gendre-Peter

Photograph by Annemarie Gendre-Peter

Photograph by Annemarie Gendre-Peter

Photograph by Annemarie Gendre-Peter

Photograph by Annemarie Gendre-Peter

Photograph by Annemarie Gendre-Peter

Photograph by Annemarie Gendre-Peter

Photograph by Annemarie Gendre-Peter

Photograph by Annemarie Gendre-Peter

Photograph by Annemarie Gendre-Peter

Photograph by Annemarie Gendre-Peter

Photograph by Annemarie Gendre-Peter

  Now in his eighties, Andre´ Eve still cares for the garden himself. 

Here's wishing to be over eighty and still gardening so happily!

Nancy photographed by Annemarie Gendre-Peter

Many thanks to Annemarie for allowing me to share her pictures of Andre´ Eve's garden.

More Information and Links:


Read a magazine article (PDF format) on the garden of Andre´ Eve. The picture to the left is from the magazine article.

See roses at the Andre´ Eve Nursery.

Read an article from Fairfield Country Living.


Watch a video in French.


24 comments:

  1. This is an amazing , heavenly garden and I think the owners must feel very happy and lucky to have it! Love this blog which shows such beauty!

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  2. What an enchanting place filled with so many gorgeous flowers. I could get lost there for sure in all that beauty.

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  3. What a gorgeous garden, Jennifer, and a truly amazing man.
    Thank you for sharing this here.

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  4. Be still my heart - those roses are so very beautiful. I think I have a lot of roses but it does not compare to that stunning garden. Thanks so very much for sharing this outstanding garden.
    Mary

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  5. Such a wonderful garden, should like to visit it, but helas not open for visitors. I shall have to look in my old magazins because I remember I have seen this garden somewhere before. Thank you for sharing this I enjoyed it so much.

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  6. Amazing. This garden is truly a dream and I think it has a 'secret garden' look to it as well. I love Nancy the corgi. I have wanted a corgi for a long time now.

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  7. How fabulous! It would be so cool to see a series of gardens from all over the world. Hope you get more people sharing with you!

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  8. Oh thank you for sharing this one Jennifer! It is such a treat to be able to see a garden from such a talented gardener from across the globe! Just such a stunning display of blooms in this space! I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Nicole xo

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  9. What beautiful photos - and a lovely garden. What an honor to have been invited to see this magnificent garden. And how sweet of Annemarie to share her photos with us through you. Thank you both!

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  10. Now that is my kind of garden - bursting with gorgeousness and not primmed to perfection (not sure if primmed is a word). He looks a nice old gent.

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  11. A paradise!! Absolutely beautiful! Can you imagine the fragrance!

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  12. How utterly romantic. Can practically feel the sunshine and catch the scent of summer. May we all be so lucky to be gardening in our 80s and be able to reflect in its beauty.
    p.s. Snow cover down to 10%. Going to chip off the rest and use it for my Friday night martini.

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  13. How beautiful! I was never a fan of roses, but since blogging have seen so many that I have now bought four or five....I can almost smell these, especially the first pic! Wonderful post, I did enjoy it.xxx

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  14. A very lovely garden. I so enjoyed the roses….

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  15. What an incredible garden. :o) That type of abundant lushness is what I aspire to, along with gardening when I'm 80!!

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  16. una belleza, como siempre, los jardines que muestras en tu blog! Este es espectacular!!!!!
    Abrazos y feliz fin de semana.

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  17. Thank you for sharing these photographs of the beautiful gardens. I could definitely get lost in there fora while! The roses are magnificent.

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  18. Wow, so pretty. And I agree, if I'm lucky enough to be diggin' in the dirt in my 80's, I'll die a happy gal.
    Love your new header photo, by the way.

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  19. Wonderful garden! I would like to sit on that chair and breath the rose fragrance, Jennifer. I love that the hostas, irises other low plants grow between roses, nice combination!

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  20. These photos are breathtaking! What a thrill it must have been for Annemarie to visit this beautiful garden. I love the shaded pathway; it looks so cool and inviting. I hope I'm still gardening in my 80's!

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  21. Un autre très beau jardin. Merci pour la découverte. Bonne fin de journée.

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  22. Ah, so lovely and romantic-looking!

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  23. Hi, I had the pleasur of meeting André Eve last week, what a charmer! You'll see a picture of us an my blog at a Schoppenwihr, a plant fair in Alsace. We'll be visiting with André Eve in a few weeks when we're in Pithivier.
    Yes!!!!!!!!!

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