A UNESCO World Heritage view (and Monet’s favorite spot in Étretat)
© Meredith Mullins

A Nature Discovery with a View

Where am I?

Am I in Alice’s wonderland or a labyrinthian meditation garden? Am I dreaming that hedges are crashing like waves on the hillside, or am I lost in a fantasy tunnel of green?

Perhaps all of the above. Great gardens open doors to creative experiences.

Enchanted gardens inspire the imagination.
© Meredith Mullins

Gardens hide behind tiny doors or down Alice-discovered rabbit holes. They surprise us beyond dilapidated fences that seem to say “go farther only if you dare.” And they present magical mazes that offer the alluring puzzle of being lost in time and place.

Does anyone else see a dancing flower?
© Meredith Mullins

Enchanted gardens are laced through literature. And they have brought inspiration to writers and painters throughout history.

One such special garden is Les Jardins d’Étretat—a nature discovery with a breathtaking view of the sea . . . and a neo-futuristic design that offers a glimpse into the future.

Oh, I see. “The garden is a perpetual artistic experiment,” as landscape architect Alexandre Grivko says of his 21^st century creation.

A garden with a view . . . of the sea, of the cliffs, and of the future
© Meredith Mullins

Monet’s Other Garden

The Jardins d’Étretat have a historic link to Claude Monet, as well as other painters such as Boudin, Courbet, Delacroix, Manet, Polenov, and Corot.

The gardens sit at the top of the Falaise d’Amont on the Alabaster Coast of Normandy, famous for its weather-etched limestone cliffs and natural rock arches (and listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO).

The light, the clouds, the sea, and the sculpted landscape have been an inspiration for generations.

The Étretat coast has inspired writers and artists for generations.
© Meredith Mullins

Monet painted these cliffs beginning in 1868, creating more than 50 works of the Étretat area.

As a tribute to Monet (painter, avid gardener, and friend), the French actress Madame Thébault created a garden near her villa at the Amont clifftop, planting her first tree in 1903 and nurturing, among other things, a vast collection of orchids.

Her garden was her solace, away from the demands of the theatre. And it became a welcome haven for her artistic friends.

A haven for visitors
© Meredith Mullins

A Neo-Futuristic Experiment

Fast forward more than 100 years. Russian landscape architect Alexandre Grivko takes on the daunting but creative challenge of restructuring and reimagining the abandoned garden, while honoring its historical significance.

The garden becomes an experimental laboratory and an artistic expression of the coast of Normandy.

More than 1000 tons of soil and 100,000 plants were brought to the top of the cliff.
© Meredith Mullins

More than 1000 tons of soil were hauled up the cliff and more than 100,000 plants were planted—all in less than two years.

Grivko followed famous French landscape architect Le Nôtre’s rapid design of the Versailles gardens by limiting the plant species.

He also followed Vito di Bari’s “Neo-Futuristic City Manifesto,” which focuses on the integration of art, technology, ethical values, and nature—to provide a higher quality of life.

A year-round garden of green that withstands the coastal winds and salty air
© Meredith Mullins

Grivko’s goal was to test new plant-care strategies so that the garden could withstand the climate challenges (wind and salt air) and to experiment with sculptural plant trimming in innovative ways.

The plant shapes are organic and true to the land forms of the area. You’ll find the waves of the English Channel, sea spirals, whirlpools, oyster farms, and, of course, the cliff formations—all in a variety of ever-greenery.

An arcade of green, mirroring the formation of the Étretat cliffs
© Meredith Mullins

An Open-Air Museum

Although the garden is not large (just under 4 acres), you have the feeling that endless meandering could be possible. The space presents permanent and temporary displays of sculpture by international artists. The permanent collection was a part of Grivko’s design. The temporary exhibit brings new work to the garden every year.

A sculpture from this year’s temporary exhibit
(“Evolution” by Cyrille André from France)
© Meredith Mullins

The seven named gardens each offer something unique. The Jardin Avatar is the first new discovery by the entrance. This garden features The Clockwork Forest (where you turn the key in the trunk of a tree and music begins to accompany you on your journey).

Who wouldn’t be tempted to turn a giant key in a tree in an enchanted garden?
(Sculpture by the Greyworld Group in London)
© Meredith Mullins

This area also exhibits the temporary sculptures of American Gianna Dispenza’s “The Space Between” and Chinese Shuengit Chow’s “Mobile Music House.”

Gianna Dispenza’s metal sculpture seems to fly in the wind.
© Meredith Mullins

The Mobile Music House is made of aluminum skins from drink cans to show
that beauty can be found in everyday objects.
© Meredith Mullins

The Jardin Impressions comes next, with its timeless view of the Étretat cliffs, permanent exhibits of comfortable wood lounging chairs, a lounging boat (apropos to the coastal location), and a temporary sculpture entitled “L’été” (Summer) showing the cycles of life and seasons.

L’Été sculpture by Armenian Gevorg Tadevosyan
© Meredith Mullins

A perfect way to merge with nature, pausing in wooden furniture
that is much more comfortable than it looks (by German Thomas Rösler).
© Meredith Mullins

The Jardin Emotions is the most recognizable part of the garden with its set of polyester/resin heads showing the range of human emotions.

The faces are floated in greenery that reflects the underwater world and mollusk-like shapes of Marie Antoinette’s first oyster bed, said to have been in the waters just below this Étretat cliff.

What emotions do you feel?
(Sculpture by Samuel Salcedo from Spain)

The “Drops of Rain,” as they are called—by Spanish artist Samuel Salcedo—range from expressive to creepy, depending on your personal interpretation.

Let’s just say I wouldn’t want to spend a night in the garden with these fellows, no matter what their emotional depth.

A kiss is not (yet) a kiss.
© Meredith Mullins

The Jardin d’Aval sends you into wonderland, with The Tree Hugger Project made from fallen tree branches by Agnieszka Gradzik (Poland) and Wiktoy Szostalo (Lithuania), a long table and benches made from one solid oak block by German sculptor Thomas Rösler, and flowers made of greenery that look like they are about to burst into song.

A tree hugger made from fallen tree branches
(from The Tree Hugger Project)
© Meredith Mullins

Flowers ready to dance and sing in a grand garden musical
© Meredith Mullins

Next on the path are the Jardin Zen, for a meditative pause amidst walls of bamboo and white rhododendrons; the Jardin La Manche with topiary mazes; and the Jardin d’Amont that takes you to the highest point of the garden, with greenery trimmed to look like the Normandy cliffs.

A moment of zen
(Bronze sculpture by Dashi Namdakov from France)
© Meredith Mullins

A Rabbit Hole and a Vision of the Future

As you wander through the Jardins d’Étretat, you might feel as if you fell through time and space into a different world. Whether real or imagined, you did.

A different world
© Meredith Mullins

As one of the great gardens in the world, this nature discovery is a brilliant integration of technology, ecology, and art. It shows a strong link between earth and sea.

And best of all, it is an artistic creation that is rooted in one of the most artistic places of all time—the Étretat coast. It is the past, present, and future all in one. Monet would feel right at home.

A tribute to Claude Monet from The Tree Hugger’s Project
© Meredith Mullins

For more information on the Jardins d’Étretat, visit here. For more information on landscape architect Alexandre Grivko, visit Il Nature.

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