Domaine d'Orvès
Encyclopedia
The Domaine d'Orvès is an arboretum
and Provençal garden surrounding an 18th century bastide
located in the commune of La Valette du Var in the Var department of France
. It is classified by the French Ministry of Culture as one of the Notable Gardens of France
. It is privately owned but open to the public by reservation.
trees, an alley of stairways bordered by very old plane trees, oleander trees, and an irrigation system using gravity and a system of wells, springs, fountains and basins at different levels. Trees in the garden include Photinia serratifolia
, Cocculus laurifolius
, pinus pinea, oleander
. cypress
, fig
trees. pittosporum
, pomegranate
, wild quince
trees, loquat
trees, and persimmon
trees.
in 1925. During World War II the land was requisitioned by the German army for an artillery position, and many of the trees, including the rows of olive trees, were cut down. The Germans spared only the plane trees in front of the house, because they liked to have dinner in the shade of the trees. After the war Deval and his wife Henriette replanted the trees which had surrounded the house. Beginning in 1993, their daughter Françoise inherited the house and restored and added many new kinds of trees and plants to the gardens.
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
and Provençal garden surrounding an 18th century bastide
Bastide (Provencal Manor)
A Bastide is a local name for a manor house in Provence, in the south of France, located in the countryside or in a village, and originally occupied by a wealthy farmer...
located in the commune of La Valette du Var in the Var department of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It is classified by the French Ministry of Culture as one of the Notable Gardens of France
Notable gardens of France
The Remarkable Gardens of France is intended to be a list and description, by region, of the over two hundred gardens classified as "Jardins remarquables" by the French Ministry of Culture and the Comité des Parcs et Jardins de France...
. It is privately owned but open to the public by reservation.
Description
The garden surrounds a Provençal bastide at the foot of Mount Coudon. It features an alley of old oliveOlive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
trees, an alley of stairways bordered by very old plane trees, oleander trees, and an irrigation system using gravity and a system of wells, springs, fountains and basins at different levels. Trees in the garden include Photinia serratifolia
Photinia serratifolia
Photinia serratifolia , commonly called Chinese photinia is a flowering plant in the Rosaceae family of flowering plants, found in mixed forests of China. Its leaves are toxic due to the presence of cyanogenic glycosides....
, Cocculus laurifolius
Cocculus laurifolius
Cocculus laurifolius is a medium sized tree of the genus Cocculus. It is native to Japan and China. It commonly grows to the height of 40 to 60 ft, with a spread of 20 to 40 ft. Form is round headed with a medium to fast growth rate and a coarse texture. Leaves are simple, Large with a whorled...
, pinus pinea, oleander
Oleander
Nerium oleander is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the dogbane family Apocynaceae, toxic in all its parts. It is the only species currently classified in the genus Nerium. It is most commonly known as oleander, from its superficial resemblance to the unrelated olive Olea, but has many other...
. cypress
Cypress
Cypress is the name applied to many plants in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is a conifer of northern temperate regions. Most cypress species are trees, while a few are shrubs...
, fig
IG
IG, Ig, or ig may mean:Biology:*Immunoglobulin*Immature granulocytePlaces:*Ig, a town and a municipality in Slovenia*IG postcode area, a group of postcode districts around Ilford, EnglandTerms:...
trees. pittosporum
Pittosporum
Pittosporum is a genus of about 200 species of flowering plants in the family Pittosporaceae. The genus is probably Gondwanan in origin; its present range extends from Australasia, Oceania, eastern Asia and some parts of Africa. Citriobatus is usually included here, but might be a distinct genus...
, pomegranate
Pomegranate
The pomegranate , Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.Native to the area of modern day Iran, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as...
, wild quince
Quince
The quince , or Cydonia oblonga, is the sole member of the genus Cydonia and native to warm-temperate southwest Asia in the Caucasus region...
trees, loquat
Loquat
The loquat , Eriobotrya japonica, is a fruit tree in the family Rosaceae, indigenous to southeastern China. It was formerly thought to be closely related to the genus Mespilus, and is still sometimes known as the Japanese medlar...
trees, and persimmon
Persimmon
A persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus Diospyros in the ebony wood family . The word Diospyros means "the fire of Zeus" in ancient Greek. As a tree, it is a perennial plant...
trees.
History
The house and gardens date to 1691. It belonged to the commune, was rented for a time by the Marquis de Castellane, and then was purchased by the painter Pierre DevalPierre Deval
Pierre Deval , was a French figurative painter of the 20th century, noted as a colorist and for his subtle paintings of women and children...
in 1925. During World War II the land was requisitioned by the German army for an artillery position, and many of the trees, including the rows of olive trees, were cut down. The Germans spared only the plane trees in front of the house, because they liked to have dinner in the shade of the trees. After the war Deval and his wife Henriette replanted the trees which had surrounded the house. Beginning in 1993, their daughter Françoise inherited the house and restored and added many new kinds of trees and plants to the gardens.