Bois des Moutiers

About

The Bois des Moutiers is located in Varengeville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France. This estate of 30 acres (0.12 km2) is well known for its rhododendrons, azaleas and magnolias, which were introduced and naturalized among local flora. The house and gardens, both dating from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, are a first-class example, unique in France, of the work of the famous English partnership of architect Edwin Lutyens and garden designer Gertrude Jekyll. A wide park overlooking the sea and formal gardens surrounding a manor house make up the Bois des Moutiers. The estate is listed as a historical monument and a Remarkable Garden of France.

Guillaume Mallet's love: In 1897, Guillaume Mallet became the owner of a wide valley overlooking the sea. He acquired the site while it was still wild, and over almost forty years he took great care to create a large park. In 1898 he invested Edwin Lutyens, a young British architect, with the enlargement and renovation of his residence and Gertrude Jekyll, a celebrated English garden designer, with the garden arrangement. These two artists acted as one to create a unified work: "the house has been designed to look at the...