Summary
Reader's Digest magazine has called Les Quatre Vents (The Four Winds) "Canada's best secret garden." Others have said it is the "most aesthetically satisfying and horticulturally exciting landscape experience in North America."
To call it "a garden" -- singular -- seems like a misnomer, because it's divided into more than 20 areas, from a Provencal-style kitchen garden, just outside the back door, to big swathes of gently sculpted woods, more formal gardens bordered by hedges and even an extensive Japanese garden, set into a ravine. You pick up a map with a legend and suggested walking route when you arrive, and then it's just a matter of stumbling into one wonderland after another. I'm still moved by the memory of it all. In his book, Cabot confesses to insecurities along the garden-planning path and "finding orchestrating the perennial beds the most stressful part of gardening." All gardeners can relate to that kind of sentiment, and it's a little reassuring. But Cabot's achievements are so magnificent, they are truly a gift to anyone lucky enough to visit.See the full content of this document
Extract
'Canada's Best Secret Garden'
Les Quatre Vents a horticultural wonder in Charlevoix
By Laura RobinA couple of weeks ago I drove out seven hours one day, seven hours back the next, spent hundreds of dollars on gas, lodging and meals and $30 on a donation admission -- all to see a garden. And that was aft...See the full content of this document
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