The Gardens of Marqueyssac or What a Man Can Do with a Pair of Garden Shears

I am sure you have all had your share of horror movies where a psychopath chases a stupid girl in a garden maze and finally kills her. Well, what I admired most about these movies was actually the maze. It’s a real work of art to cut these garden bushes so as to obtain a live maize, a labyrinth made of plants. That requires quite a few skills of designer first, then of gardener and also of architect. It’s a work of art if you ask me. And my opinion was proved once again when I saw photos of the Gardens of Marqueyssac in France.

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These gardens are situated in France, somewhere near the Dordogne valley and they surround a very old castle – said to have been built in the 17th century. Of course, that explains the tradition of sculpting the bushes in the garden and turning them into living statues. Actually the present design of the gardens was made some 300 years ago and now it is only kept and maintained after the original sketch. All those bushes are rounded and sheared so as to look like bubbles and likeĀ  some rounded shapes that seem to twist and turn as if they were living creatures.

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The gardens look spectacular and are open for visitors every day of the year. Situated between the Bourdeaux and Rhone wine regions, they can certainly be a visiting stop if you ever happen to be a tourist there.

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And apparently all the work of maintaining all these garden sculptures is done by only four gardeners. But they were smart enough to add some other entertaining activities for the kids like face painting and all, so it’s fun. My point was to admire the work of men and get inspiration if you ever want to do something with your garden bushes and don’t know what.