There is a big once-every-five-years flower show going on in Nantes this year, so, given the ongoing garden development here at Domaine des Hallais, we decided to go and take a look.
It was two hours drive away, which seemed a long way, but then I remembered that I used to think nothing of doing the two hour drive from Staines to the NEC when I was working in England. Leeds at 3 and a half hours did seem a long way, but the NEC? Nearly on the doorstep.
A fascinating display. Formal and informal gardens built by private gardening firms, or from sponsored civil bodies like the city of Seattle, twinned with Nantes. I came away with only two new plants: what I can only describe as a wodge of Agapanthus; somone had dug up an established plant and split it with a spade, and a few roots of Incarvillea, a plant that goes by the common name of chasse-taupe in France, because moles don't like it. I have had some moles in my lawn so maybe these will help.
Here are some pictures from the flower show. Some random pictures to give you a feel for it, though of course there is much more to see than these.....
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCCkmxNDq6Fskx_9xStUEtJC0_na7n9hIQ04F7QYeJE9NC2AFqgkyg5O38AdOovZepZrDX4eg_StN1PCju_pNu0s3vjpoY3Rj_M04G8yGczR9dnlITeZGrBzoFbVDEglZ-AlThBsFcfj4/s320/MysterySmall.jpg)
This garden creates an air of mystery as in Arthurian legends
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhkU4zntRanxmmtU1PpqATEEDqN8vMypb5yc4IHEQjjyo_M4U532_1FbOneO8ekycYUWNyW7atTFxvEQGxt-E4wvxr62UFffD5OlWAkAb9tiPcbDeDh_C9lAVuh0uoe927L-ru93nJJqA/s320/IndustrialSmall.jpg)
This industrial wasteland garden appealed to me because it reminded me of scenes from the computer game "Half Life"
There were plenty of orchids on display
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUDu6_8PjqH3wFC3O2uwUDYSJ1etVlYahL5PqFgico-E0pmDVfXH2bJehKHW4aIgVm12veuMu2Wq8JvREvf54JXla-m0triZAFjoK-3dr1yveseksZZGb8g2ToPv_gkCZO7LvF8BJM7S8/s320/OrchidArrangementSmall.jpg)
This abstract pattern of orchids, in crystal vases, placed on a mirror was effective
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtbj-zN4kzpPzbGBGW-SZEqjdTFIuWb_UWWB8vCgl-GamPdUOhRLNYpO40ToCZ1r3yFseJ6OKDWV7Lg-THlm61rXKj__JPJj2rNPLf4H2qS4tBuwIWcqlacA1AJpZUhU221iVqfP2uy2Y/s320/GreenOrchidSmall.jpg)
This one seemed somehow Irish to me :)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixxgIKbx9DwVYmNV3MHS53cg4R7aPJMGf3P0Xye1jMEJ8qYYriYrPp64DeWxvuI_kg3HlzGqhXTNdlVqkoVnTPbHpGC_NZukUxnoILyh10_rchkCYHTI0bmvJu1x5zDuZaXMz1T1pb0Zw/s320/OrchidSmall.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBS2ce4o_bS9WpgUFrukCaa8Sgk__2yLoXk7fRcFgdbpImLVKcalihnLp1JTsACk-lL4aJbgP1kU-j5DcgESIPDdKxS2EacvRK04mLeH4lFGZkifZQi7CF7RCvDBRce86e1SdppUUnsno/s320/VegUmbrellaSmall.jpg)
And this vegetable umbrella, one of several was..... well, different