It really was like watching a time lapse recording — every day was something new opening up. Also fascinating to see what plants they were pulling out and the size of replacements.

Raking gravel must be a specialty skill. I only saw one guy ever doing it.
I hope they put up a display of tools used to maintain the gardens. The range of rakes, pruners, shovels must be incredible.

I agree! I first visited it 30 years ago and it has been in my mind since then. This was a chance to really absorb it.

Hi,
To add my voice to the chorus, Villandry is one of the places I tell anybody visiting near Tours to see. And to see it come alive in the spring must be a joy.
Cheers,
Keith

It was at Villandry that a friend of mine commented drily: "If you were a gardener here you'd never have to worry about what you'd spend your day doing, would you? 'I believe today, I shall rake some gravel.' "

Magnificent gardens indeed- thanks for the reminder of a pleasant visit.

I think the gardens at Villandry about the most spectacular gardens I have ever visited

I love the imagining you climing the ladder stairs after the day of baguettes. That pic of your bikes together is a sweet capture of your togetherness. Enjoy it all.

Might be Siberian Bugloss.

https://www.gardenia.net/plant-variety/brunnera-macrophylla-siberian-bugloss

Sound like you found a perfect place for work and play!

Now I've exposed my ignorance... they are defensive structures, according to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towers_of_Bologna)

Quoting the article, in part:

"Between the 12th and the 13th century, Bologna was a city full of towers. Almost all the towers were tall (the highest being 97m), defensive stone towers. Besides the towers, there are still some fortified gateways (torresotti) that correspond to the gates of the 12th-century city wall (Mura dei torresotti or Cerchia dei Mille), which itself has been almost completely destroyed.

The reasons for the construction of so many towers are not clear. One hypothesis is that the richest families used them for offensive/defensive purposes during the period of the Investiture Controversy."

I have no idea if these towers are for the same purpose, but I've seen similar structures locally. The ones in this area are "shot towers", so named because they were used to produce the round pellets that go in shotgun shells.

Molten metal (lead, presumably) is hauled to the top and poured through what is basically a sieve; it flows through the holes and forms droplets that are shaped into the desired spherical form by air friction as they fall. At the bottom are water-filled tubs that collect and cool the pellets.

We visited Villandry in 2003, on our first tandem tour in France. Our tour organizer was a Brit with an absolutely arid sense of humor. Watching the groundskeepers at work around the chateau he remarked "You'd never have to wonder about what to do at work, would you? 'Today, I believe I shall rake some gravel.' "

Your present circumstances certainly sound congenial and relaxing!

Looks like a wonderful spot and it’s great you can get some bicycling an walking in!

I love your eye. Seeing what you notice. Wondering what you are wondering about..... towers.....fish... and... and why in the world would you want to live on a street with this name...
Thanks for the updates.
Martha

With 3 million people on the move right now it will be a challenge for everyone. Very glad to see many countries opening centers and providing support.