18th edition, 9 and 10 May 2026
For the 18th consecutive year, the Château of La Ballue is organising the event ‘Topiaries: Art and Craft’, and is partnering with the World Topiary Days organised by EBTS France (European Boxwood and Topiary Society).
This leading event, unique in France, reflects the public’s growing interest in topiary, an art form that originated in Ancient Rome and consists of trimming garden plants for decorative purposes.
This event offers a chance to discover or rediscover our gardens, designated as ‘Remarkable Gardens’, which surround the 17th-century château and feature a beautiful variety of plants suitable for topiary: yews, boxwoods, hornbeams, beeches, laurels… The 1,500 topiary specimens in the gardens are hand-pruned by the estate’s gardeners and come in a wide variety of shapes, ranging from the most classic to the most sophisticated (spheres, spirals, columns, tiered structures…).
With activities taking place continuously throughout the weekend, you will also be able to benefit from the expertise of our gardeners:
- ‘Tools’ workshop:
Gardeners Kévin Spassevitch and Paul-Alexandre Pelé will demonstrate the various techniques used to sculpt and prune plants.The choice of tools, how to use them and how to maintain them will also be explained in detail.
- ‘Sculpting and Pruning’ workshop:
You can watch live demonstrations running continuously throughout the weekend. Our gardeners will sculpt topiaries in a variety of shapes, explain their pruning techniques and answer your questions.
We will also showcase the cloud pruning work on the grove of Monterey pines and holm oaks carried out by the team of arborists led by Claude Le Maut.
Practical information:
Saturday and Sunday, 9 and 10 May 2026, open continuously from 10.00 to 18.30. Demonstrations and activities from 11.00 until 17.00. Admission at standard rates.
©Photos: Yann Monel & Richard Louvet
