Gerberoy and Jardins Henri le Sidaner

After our delightful visit and delicious lunch at Du Jardin des Ifs, we strolled through the rest of Gerberoy. We visited the gardens of painter Henri le Sidaner. Born in Mauritius, his family moved to France and settled in Dunkirk in 1908. He studied art at the prestigious Beaux Arts school in Paris and later lived at Les Etapes art colony for nine years, alongside artists Eugene Boudin and Frank O’Meara. 

After traveling to Italy, Germany, and England, le Sidaner returned to Paris. He told his friend Auguste Rodin he was looking for a country house in France. Rodin recommends le Sidaner look for a house in the Beauvais area in the Picardie region, about 90 minutes from Paris. Ceramist Auguste Delaherche invited him to the tiny village of Gerberoy and le Sidaner was smitten. He rented a house and developed the garden into three-tiers, imitating an Italian garden. He went on to purchase more land to extend the garden, creating three monochrome gardens: the white flower garden, the rose garden and the blue garden. In the blue garden, he installed a replica of the Temple of Love rotunda at the Petit Trianon in Versailles. 

We walked through all the levels of garden and at every turn there was another exquisite flower bed or seating area, lush with plants. 

Strolling through the winding road, passing one charming, flower laden house after another, we were abundantly charmed by the village of Gerberoy.

Jardins Henri le Sidaner 603080 Gerberoy

Open May 1to September 30, Open everyday 11am to 6pm

https://www.lesjardinshenrilesidaner.com

Please read my article Paris: Before and After the COVID-19 Lockdown

https://www.travelagentcentral.com/europe/paris-before-and-after-covid-19-lockdown

I am happy to have the prolific author John Baxter as my guest on A Bite of Paris. John has written many books about Paris including The Most Beautiful Walk in World, We’ll Always Have Paris, and books about the neighborhoods of Paris. Montmartre, Saint Germain des Pres, and Montmartre. John has also written two books about food in France, The Perfect Meal and Eating Eternity. 

John and I had coffee outdoors at the pastry shop and café, Gerard Mulot, in Saint Germain des Pres. 

Please watch the video at this link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpPCLR-6ACg

For more about John and to purchase his books go to https://www.johnbaxterparis.com/

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Comments

[CARMEN CLARKE]

Beautiful photos! Thank you, Richard!