Gardens

In the heart of the gardens to visit in Sarthe , nature is worked to offer you the most beautiful floral marvels. Lush or discreet nature, local or exotic essences with a thousand and one scents, visiting a garden in Sarthe is a real source of inspiration. These cases open their doors to you, for the pleasure of the senses of young and old alike.

Remarkable gardens in Sarthe

Among its many gardens, the Sarthe has seven “remarkable gardens”. This label distinguishes the gardens for their botanical, historical, aesthetic or even cultural interest.

The garden of the Château du Lude is a garden of several hectares overlooking the Loir valley. It includes a French-style garden designed by landscape architect Edouard André in the 19th century, a vegetable garden ^and a rather English-style park. It will take you a good hour to walk around in all its corners!

The garden of the Petit Bordeaux, intimate with nearly 4000 species and varieties of trees, shrubs and old roses, will take you through a decoration all in relief in a spectacle constantly renewed by the sequence of the seasons.

The Renaissance garden of Poncé-sur-le-Loir looks like a theater set at the foot of a tufa cliff. Walk through a French garden bordered by a labyrinth of arbors before entering the back of the castle, in the heart of an Italian garden.

The garden of the Château de Villaines is of the classic type , with trimmed boxwood, geometric figures and, in its centre, beautiful water moats. The further you go in the visit, the more the garden takes you into the open countryside. At the back of the castle discover a pretty walled vegetable garden and orchard.

The Prieuré de Vauboin is entirely a garden dedicated to boxwood. Cut and sculpted, the box trees look like characters that come alive with the wind and the change of light. Open to visitors by reservation, the Prieuré de Vauboin is a poetic journey out of time that will not leave you indifferent.

The garden of the Château du Mirail is a beautiful blend of French and English traditions. Small enclosed spaces hide mixed borders where perennials and flowering shrubs flourish. Old roses, topiary boxwood and yew complete the plant picture.

The garden of the Ballon dungeon is of medieval inspiration. It rubs shoulders with rose gardens, an orchard and a large alley covered with lime trees that looks like something straight out of a heroic fantasy story. Erected on a rocky outcrop, the garden invites poetic wandering under the benevolent eye of the 16th century keep.

Inspirational gardens

Escape to Jane’s garden in La Chapelle-du-Bois . In the English style, this garden is a mixture of 1,000 incomparable flowers, vegetables and fruit trees.

At the foot of the Gallo-Roman wall of Le Mans, the pretty, fragrant garden of Gourdaine welcomes you. A true link with the medieval past of the city, it received the national prize for the enhancement of heritage.

If you like history and heritage, the gardens of the Manoir de Venevelles, the Château de la Groirie, the Manoir de Sourches or the Château des Gringuenières are made for you. Thus, there is no shortage of viewpoints to enjoy these green spaces while traveling in time.

Finally, bearing its name perfectly, the Poetry Garden is a haven of peace and color for a bucolic walk.

Garden events

And if you take advantage of the events to discover the gardens of our department?

At the beginning of June, each edition of the Rendez-vous aux jardins offers you ideas for routes on a chosen theme.

For more than 25 years, the first weekend of June, the Gardeners’ Festival has also been held at the Château de Lude. This is the unmissable event for lovers of gardening and beautiful books!

Finally, Le Mans and the Cité Plantagenêt are transformed into a botanical setting in mid-September during the Entre Cours et Jardins event. More than 40 private and hidden places are revealed for the occasion.