LE JARDIN EN MOUVEMENT

The domain of Château de La Borie combines historical patrimony with contemporary art and landscape. The 17th century castle is home to an international contemporary art gallery and is surrounded by 14 ha grounds restored according to ecological principles. The grounds of La Borie were used for agricultural purposes for nearly four centuries. Early in the 21st century a park and garden were created with trees and plants. After this first metamorphosis the castle and park/garden were abandoned for several years. What appeared to be a decline turned out to be a new beginning: indigenous plants and flowers emerged giving rise to a garden with a vast biodiversity of flowers, plants, trees and animals.

The new owners of La Borie, who arrived in 2017, were fascinated by this new balance between indigenous plants and previously established tree and plant species from different parts of the world. They decided to develop the park/garden as a ‘Jardin en Mouvement’, according to the original ideas of the French landscape gardener/botanist, Gilles Clément: “to do as much as possible with, and as little as possible against nature”. Gilles Clément developed these principles as part of his concept of the Jardin Planétaire in the 1970’s, when it became evident that human interventions threatened to disturb the continuous ecological equilibria in nature.

In addition to the ‘Jardin en Mouvement’, La Borie houses a vegetable garden based on the principles of permaculture and a classical French garden, representing the historical origins of the gardens. The combination of these gardens and park now function as a laboratory for observation and experimentation of contemporary methods to sustain a healthy diverse ecosystem. This approach builds on the interests and expertise of Harry Struijker-Boudier, Emeritus Professor and former Director of the Laboratory of Pharmacology at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.