At the beginning of 2023, we announced that Ian Barker Gardens was partnering with Château de Purnon to design the vast gardens surrounding the historic estate. If you aren’t familiar with Château de Purnon or its restoration journey, click here to read more.
Here’s what makes this project so exciting:
Heritage
The primary goal for Felicity, Tim, and the Ian Barker Gardens team is to design gardens that honour and complement the historic estate, which dates back to 1788. This involves close collaboration with heritage experts to ensure that the plans align with the original vision and respect the rich history of Château de Purnon. With several areas of the property being declared officially as historical monuments, it’s essential to align the garden design with that of the time.
Longevity
At nearly 250 years old, the Château remains a majestic presence, with some of its original trees still flourishing. It’s an extraordinary opportunity to design gardens with long-term sustainability in mind. By carefully selecting trees and plants, the aim is to ensure that future generations will continue to enjoy and appreciate the Château and its gardens for potentially the next 200 years.
Ian has just returned from France, where he spent two weeks working alongside the Château’s Australian owners, Felicity and Tim, on the landscape master plan and is thrilled with the progress.
Château de Purnon has documented Ian’s visit and you can learn more about our plans for the gardens here:
The next step for the Ian Barker Gardens team is to finalise the master plan by refining the details of various garden areas, setting the stage for their long-term success. We’re thrilled to be part of this remarkable journey and look forward to working with Felicity and Tim as the restoration of Château de Purnon progresses.
To stay up-to-date with Château de Purnon’s progress, be sure to follow their journey on their website here. We’ll be excited to share updates relating to the garden as we continue to move forward.
