Parc Floral de la Source

La Source is an old estate – the château was owned in the early 18th century by Lord Bolinbrooke, a friend of Voltaire. Its name derives from the source of the River Loiret, a mysterious bubbling spring that fills the pool in front of the château in well-wooded grounds.

In its present form the garden was founded in 1963, although it has greatly increased in size and complexity and is now primarily a display garden – a shop window for plants and horticultural techniques. The style of planting tends towards the municipal but the value of the garden lies less in aesthetics than in the range and interest of plants grown.

In spring there is a colourful explosion of 100,000 bulbs, 70,000 biennials, followed by a tremendous display of 900 varieties of irises.

A huge collection of chiefly modern roses starts to flower after the 90,000 bedding plants have been planted up, and continues through the summer. There is a Concours of Roses where the visitor is invited to give an opinion of the new ones on display. There are some 400 different rose cultivars. In autumn dahlias and chrysanthemums and fuscias are a special feature.

In addition to the displays of specific plants in their seasons, there is skilful grouping of trees and shrubs and well executed associations of colours with avenues of cedars, poplars, taxodiums, rhododendrons and azaleas.

Also on the estate are: some deer, ducks, flamingoes, butterflies, an aviary, mini-golf, a small train, the château with a formal box parterre and large miroir d’eau.

Parc Floral de la Source