Garden of the five senses

A couple of weeks back, we visited Le Jardin des Cinq Sens

(or the Garden of the five senses) in the medieval town of Yvoire, France.

It was a glorious day, we took the boat from Geneva and sailed for

a little over 1.5 hrs to finally get to the 700+ year old town.

'One of the vegetable gardens surrounding the 14th Century castle in Yvoire was transformed in 1986 and opened to the public.Within this enclosed space the paths, pool and fruit trees were kept and taking the five senses as a theme, a plant maze was created using the techniques and symbols of the Middle Ages.'

'The hornbeam hedges and the espaliered apple trees

of the Jardin des Cinq Sens ®

divide the garden into four rooms, each representing

one of the senses of sight, touch, taste and smell.

The fifth sense of hearing is represented by the sounds of birdsong and water.'

'The labyrinth is, in fact, the castle’s former kitchen garden,

restored according to the art of medieval gardens:

maze of the five senses, espaliered fruit trees, old roses,

hedged cloister with medicinal and scented plants, fountains, birds…'

As you explore the labyrinth, narrow hedges lead you to

'The Garden of smell' and these yellow flowers

that smell like jasmine greet you.

The Garden of touch is filled with texture, the most unusual geometric shapes

and pods and thorns and buds.....

'The Garden of sight' has magical shades of blue, mauve and pink....

It is said about this garden that if you revisit the labyrinth,

it'll never be the same experience. It constantly changes colour and

promises to be feel like your first visit each time.

'Un jardin qu'il faut decouvrir lentement avec une âme de poète'

~A garden that needs to be discovered with the soul of a poet~

Hope you enjoyed, I couldn't short-select the snaps so posted almost all :)