The following text from a tourist website gives a good overview
(including a schematic image) of the Jardin Médiéval in Uzès:
The Medieval Garden (Jardin
Médiéval) is a shady, green refuge in the very heart of Uzès. The long, narrow
entrance takes you, in spirit, directly into the Medieval era. The entire
garden area is completely cut off from the rest of the town. Inside, ancient
towers rising above and small trees, herbs and gardens fill the grounds. All of
the 400-plus plants are "wild", the same plants used by the people of
the Middle Ages.
The gardens are tucked in between
the walls of the King's Tower (Tour du Roi), the Bishop's Tower (Tour de
l'Evêque), the King's room and an ancient chapel. The plants are grouped in
different areas, including a Herbularium on one side and Utilitary Plants
around behind the King's Room. The plants are all clearly marked, and
well-tended by a small group of staff and volunteers.
The Medieval Garden of Uzès was created in 1995,
using ancient illustrations and manuscripts to recreate the walled botanical
gardens of the Middle Ages.
In mid-June, after 6
weeks in Uzès , we started
thinking about what places we wanted to visit and what things we wanted to do
before departing. Some things on the
list required a drive and plenty of time (Nimês, Avignon), while some were very
close to home. On Monday 16th June, we
visited the Jardin Medieval and King’s Tower, after a 5 minute walk from our
door.
The photo below of
Elle and Xavier on top of the King’s Tower, shows the view west with the green
trees of the Place Aux Herbes to Elle’s left, and our rooftop to her right
(beneath Grace and William’s top floor square bedroom).
The panorama below
expands the same view.
The view below is to
the east, over the Cathederal, the Tour Fenestrelle and the La vallee de l'Eure.
The tight radius of the 100 step stone staircase was tricker to descend than ascend.
The photo below is
taken from the garden and shows the Bishop’s Tower on the left, and the top of
the Bermond Tower (with flag) on the right.
The garden itself is quite small, but very nice to stroll around. The comment from the tourist website about being ‘completely cut off from the rest of the town’ is entirely true, and significantly improves the experience; although only 100m from our apartment, it felt a world away.
The complementary
honey and herb drinks were quite refreshing – Cheers!
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