by Nicholas Walker, Brand Ambassador for kathy ireland Designs – Jardin

Situated in the Haute-Meuse region in Belgium the Gardens of Annevoie mix the splendor and majesty of the French style with English romanticism and Italian refinement. Designed to unveil their treasures little by little, as you are lead from one surprise to another, visitors are surrounded by cascades and fountains, majestic hundred-year old trees, false grottoes and charming extravagancies.

The Gardens of Annevoie , which are in a state of constant evolution, provide an unique setting where the waters have been flowing non-stop for the last 250 years – without any machinery – by a miracle of ingenuity.

The Gardens reflect the history of the de Montpellier family who inherited the estate at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Work on the gardens started around 1758 after John Montpellier found inspiration in his many travels through Europe, basing his gardens’ concept on three philosophies.

The French style or “art corrects nature” – avoiding all curves and windings in order to create long and majestic perspectives, making areas of the gardens such as the Drive of Flowers, the Grand Drive and the French Cascade look like a painting.

The Italian style or “art adapts to nature” – where architecture brings out variety, contrast and surprise effects, integrating curves, differences in level etc into the landscape. Water, one of the main features, is considered to be the soul of the gardens.

The English style or “art imitates nature” – where architecture attempts to reproduce natural effects artificially, as found in the man-made English Cascade and Neptune’s Cave.

The original owner-designer, Charles-Alexis de Montpellier, had travelled widely and, having seen the gardens of Italy, France and England wished to use ideas from each of these countries. The result is romantic, with a grand canal, and a grotto. There are some twenty ornamental pools with fifty water jets, fountains and cascades.

Ten generations of the de Montpellier family of Annevoie contributed to the creation of the Gardens before they came into the hands of the Jourdain family in 2000.

Since then, the Gardens have grown from 20 to 55 hectares and undergone the creation of many new features.

One of the garden’s main features are The Water Steps. They are the only water steps in Belgium – if not in Europe – that have survived in perfect working order since they were constructed around 1760; and mainly because no machinery is required for their functioning. Water supply to its reservoir, the grand canal, is entirely natural by one of four springs irrigating the gardens.

by Nicholas Walker, Brand Ambassador for kathy ireland Designs – Jardin

Halfway down the west coast of Vancouver Island, are twelve acres of gardens, forest, and shoreline aimed to inspire conservation of the world’s Temperate Coastal Rainforests

Tofino Botanical Gardens offer an enchanting network of paths and boardwalks which take you around flower, herb, kitchen and childrens’ gardens and on into the forest, where clearings have been transformed into a series of pocket gardens, art installations and garden buildings.

Some of the pocket gardens display plants that once thrived in other coastal temperate rainforests around the world. Garden buildings include the “historic” Bernardo O’Higgins homestead, a storytelling hut made by acclaimed local artist, Jan Janzen and two bird blinds overlooking the Tofino Mudflats Wildlife Management Area.

Tofino is more like a nature/botanical preserve than a formal garden. It comfortably blends ecology, botany, history art and anthropology. It is both reflective and laidback with lots of hidden areas, so visitors should definitely use the map in order not to miss any of the wonderful sculptures and surprises in this most interesting of gardens.

The wonderful assortment of art installations have all been made to survive or weather in the rain, and provide a cultural counterpoint to the surrounding natural beauty.

The mission of Tofino Botanical Gardens is to help people of all ages to develop an interest and caring attitude that will encourage them to take action towards conserving the temperate coastal rainforest and old growth forests.

In 1976, a global network of biosphere reserves was initiated by UNESCO, recognizing regions that demonstrated innovated approaches to conservation and sustainable development. The Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve was designated six years ago in recognition of the region’s desire to achieve a balance between people and nature.

The Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve is about 850,000 acres, and is Canada’s only biosphere reserve that encompasses both marine and terrestrial environments.

Encouraged by a visit from David Suzuki, the Tofino Botanical Gardens Foundation is developing a Sustainability within a Generation program, with a goal to “make Canada a world leader in sustainability by 2030.” The program blend hands-on activities, community service, and classroom work to teach critical goals to achieve Sustainability within a Generation.

Tofino Botanical Gardens sees itself as being “not for everyone” and is unlike most other ‘conventional’ botanical gardens. Some see this garden is miles ahead of any other botanical gardens – no perfect rows of perfectly matched blooms, or expanses of manicured lawns.

Instead there are plants from coastal temperate rainforests around the world and a strong message about rainforest conservation and protection. The quirkiness of these gardens is guaranteed to tantalize anyone with an inquisitive mind and a sense of humour.

by Nicholas Walker, Brand Ambassador for kathy ireland Designs – Jardin

The Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam is one of the oldest botanic gardens in the world. Although the Hortus is only around 3 acres in size, the number of plants is enormous. In fact, the garden boasts over 6,000 plants and more than 4000 species, – which is about 2% of all plant species growing on earth.), in the garden and its seven green houses, located in the Plantage district on the edge of the hectic center of Amsterdam.

Originally, the Hortus was a medicinal herb garden, founded in 1638 by the Amsterdam City Council. At that time, herbs were of vital importance as the basis of medicines and the city had just experienced a plague epidemic. Here at the Hortus, doctors and pharmacists experimented and trained in the preparation of prescriptions.

The Hortus expanded quickly in the 17th and 18th Centuries. The ships of the Dutch East India Company brought not only herbs and spices, but also exotic ornamental plants.

The original outdoor garden looked very different, with straight beds containing medicinal plants and ornamental flowers grown in symmetric arches. The Semi-Circle is a sea of ​​flowers in the summer, with its use of box hedges clearly reminiscent of the formal garden architecture popular before the Romantic Movement. The present design encompasses curving paths and rounded beds, designed to draw the visitor in and forget the surrounding ‘city.

There are more than mature 50 trees in the garden, most of which are either very old, very rare, or very unusual. They include a huge Turkish hazel, an enormous evergreen oak and an impressive 150+-year-old Indian bean.

Hundreds of tropical butterflies inhabit a small green butterfly house built in 1896. The eggs laid on the the many plants are collected and raised in a separate greenhouse to the pupal stage. When about to emerge, the pupae are returned to the butterfly greenhouse where the butterflies soon emerge.

The eye-catching centrepiece of the Hortus is the three-climate greenhouse, built in 1993. A computer system automatically controls the temperature and humidity in the different areas of the greenhouse.

The tropical section strongly-resembles a real jungle, with many species growing profusely in this hot, humid climate. The hot, dry desert area of the greenhouses feature a variety of cacti and other succulents, including an impressive display of quiver trees and the bizarre Welwitschia from Namibia.

Welwitschia mirabilis is an ancient plant species which only grows in one place on earth – the dry desert of Namibia and southern Angola. It is the last remaining species of a group of plants which evolved approximately 240 million years ago.

Several giant cycads are also featured in the Garden, one of which is among the oldest container plants in the Western world. Originally from South Africa, it was brought to The Netherlands about 300 years ago from the collection of the Deceased King William II. It remains the showpiece of the Botanical Garden to this day.