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Normandy’s extraordinary gardens and their amazing patrons and stewards repeatedly dazzled the two dozen attendees of ������������’s (������������) 2024 international excursion. While many of the sites were steeped in centuries of tradition, often their present incarnations were realized within the past thirty years or less. That continuity of cultural and artistic legacy, whether orthodox in a landscape’s restoration or a more contemporary interpretation, was consistently and delightfully overwhelming. A complete recounting of the full itinerary would be cumbersome for the reader, so here’s a recollection of many of the highlights.

Among Normandy’s most famous gardens is , the home, garden and muse for Claude Monet for more than 40 years (1883-1926). His various interpretations of the site’s lagoon and waterlilies have captivated audiences (and commanded massive prices at auction) for generations. While it’s a very popular site that feels more institutional than personal, it is nonetheless an important cultural touchstone and served as a good introduction to the region.

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The stately and magisterial Château du Domaine du , purchased in 1992 by the Paris-based decorator Jacques Garcia and sited on more than 110 acres, has a series of themed garden “rooms” inspired by a drawing by André Le Nôtre (famous for designing the landscapes at Vaux-le-Vicomte and Versailles). Promenades, both vast and intimate, have been planted with thousands of trees, extensive boxwood, and complemented with some twenty ponds and fountains. The interiors of the château are equally regal.

The tour was organized by the seemingly inexhaustible Sofia Barroso (her fourth for ������������) of the Madrid-based firm AroundArt who said in Normandy we could experience all four seasons in one day. That happened at , created over several decades by Patick and Sylvie Quibel, where sunny skies gave way to ominous clouds and then a hailstorm. Rather than being a damper, the storm added an element of the fantastical to the Quibel’s magical use of lacey wildflowers, grasses, and perennials.

Les Jardins d'Angélique and the Valeriane Garden (and its profusion of foxglove), among France’s top ten favorites, rounded out the day before the group settled in at th