The Jardins de Valloires (8 hectares) are botanical garden

Botanical garden

A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...

s located on the grounds of the 18th century Abbaye de Valloires in Argoules

Argoules

Argoules is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is situated north of Abbeville on the D192, on the banks of the Authie River.-Population:-Places and monuments:...

, Somme

Somme

Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....

, Picardie

Picardie

Picardy is one of the 27 regions of France. It is located in the northern part of France.-History:The historical province of Picardy stretched from north of Noyon to Calais, via the whole of the Somme department and the north of the Aisne department...

, 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...

. They are classified as a Jardin Remarquable, and open daily in the warmer months; an admission fee is charged.

The gardens' origins date to 1981 when gardener Jean-Louis Cousin began to look for a site for his collection of 3000 plant varieties from north Asia

North Asia

North Asia or Northern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the Asian portion of Russia.The Phillips Illustrated Atlas of the World 1988 defines it as being most of the former USSR, the part that is to the east of the Ural Mountains...

 and North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. In 1985 the Région de Picardie, Département de la Somme, and Syndicat Mixte pour l’Aménagement de la Côte Picarde agreed to build a new garden beside the Abbaye de Valloires. Starting in 1987, the gardens were designed by Gilles Clément

Gilles Clément

Gilles Clément, born at Argenton-sur-Creuse, Indre, France in 1943, is a gardener, garden designer, botanist, entomologist and French writer. He has gained attention for his design of public parks in France, such as Parc André-Citroën. In 1998, he was the recipient of France's National Landscape...

, who also designed the Parc André Citroën

Parc André Citroën

Parc André Citroën is a public park located on the left bank of the river Seine in the XVe arrondissement of Paris. The park was built on the site of a former Citroën automobile manufacturing plant, and is named after company founder André Citroën.-History:In 1915, Citroën built his factory on...

 and Jardin botanique du domaine du Rayol, and first opened to the public in 1989, with additional gardens created in subsequent years.

Today the gardens contain over 5000 plant taxa

Taxon

|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...

, representing 75 botanical families, 698 genera

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

, and 2030 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

, with an emphasis on plants from China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, and Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

. They are organized into three major sections:

• French gardens, to harmonize with the abbey's west facade

• English gardens (jardins des îles), containing botanical collections organized into "islands"

• and a wilder, naturalistic garden.

Points of interest include a rose

Rose

A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...

 garden containing 200 varieties of modern and ancient roses, medicinal garden, vegetable

Vegetable

The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....

 garden, garden of evolution (6000 m², opened in 2003) in honor of local scientist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de la Marck , often known simply as Lamarck, was a French naturalist...

, and garden of five senses.

The gardens contain a national collection of Rubus

Rubus

Rubus is a large genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these plants have woody stems with prickles like roses; spines, bristles, and gland-tipped hairs are...

 recognized by the Conservatoire des Collections Végétales Spécialisées (CCVS), as well as a collection of 98 Viburnum

Viburnum

Viburnum is a genus of about 150–175 species of shrubs or small trees in the moschatel family, Adoxaceae. Its current classification is based on molecular phylogeny...

 varieties. In addition, the rose garden contains three special varieties related to the site: the Jardins de Valloires created by André Eve and formally named in 1992 by Catherine Deneuve

Catherine Deneuve

Catherine Deneuve is a French actress. She gained recognition for her portrayal of aloof and mysterious beauties in films such as Repulsion and Belle de jour . Deneuve was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1993 for her performance in Indochine; she also won César Awards for that...

, the Rose des Cisterciens created by Delbard in 1998 in honor of the 900th anniversary of the Cistercian Order, and the Rose of Picardy created in 2004 by David Austin.