The Gardens in Spring

« Thus the ever grateful Spring

does her yearly tribute bring;

All your sweets before him lay,

Then round his altar sing and play. »

"Thus the ever grateful Spring" The Fairy Queen, Purcell (1692)

In spring, the garden explodes with life thanks to the flowers of the fruit trees and the thousands of bulbs planted by the William Christie gardeners. This spring show begins with the blooming of the delicately scented white flowers of the Thalia daffodils, planted in large numbers at the foot of the trees. In the meadow, the red of the tulips bursts forth. The avenues of espaliered apple trees are carpeted with dwarf bulbs: miniature daffodils, anemones, Ipheions, and various varieties of tulips.