Do you like gardens? Do you like art? Then you will love the Enchanted Garden in Saint-Jean-Geest (Jodoigne) because it combines both!
The Enchanted Garden is a creation of Art Sanctuary, a joint venture between Norwegian artist Tone Aanderaa (“a poetic painter who loves to be in nature”) and Belgian ICT guru Ignace Clarysse (“a man who loves to plant trees and make ponds”).
The garden extends over 1½ hectares and includes an avenue of 100 cherry trees, a small forest with secret chambers, lots of ponds and waterways, and a romantic labyrinth.
If that’s not enough, for six weeks starting this Sunday, August 11th the garden hosts artworks inspired by and in dialogue with nature. They are created by nearly 40 artists from Belgium, France, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Norway, and the UK. Between then they have created works in glass, stone, metal, wood, and ceramics, land art and street art, sound installations and music.
This is the sixth year that Tone and Ignace have opened their beautiful garden to the public, and they promise visitors “a journey of mysteries and wonders, transformations and metamorphosis.”
You can find the Enchanted Garden at Rue Du Tilleul 22, 1370 Saint-Jean-Geest (Jodoigne). Opening hours are Fridays from 18:00 till 21:00, Saturdays and Sundays from 13:00 till 20:00. It’s also open on Monday 14th August between 13:00 and 20:00. A contribution of 6 euro/person is requested (free for children under 12).
You can read more on the Art Sanctuary website. It also includes details of the artists and travel directions.
Below are some of the artworks on display to whet your appetite.
And here’s a pin to add to your collection:
Stunning, just stunning. We have a garden near us in Winchester which does something similar, but no where near the beauty of this one
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I hope they get good weather, particularly for the opening, so that everything looks their best. I thought you lived in Portugal Becky? Or do you hop between there and the UK?
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The Algarve is her winter home, Denzil (I’m answering for her because we are near neighbours in the Algarve and I know she’s seriously busy organising Winchester Heritage week for early September 🙂 )
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Thanks Jo. Most definitely the best of both worlds!
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Thanks neighbour – missing you and the Algarve blue skies x
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Swamped by rain at the moment in the UK but fingers crossed the sun will return!
And as the lovely lovely Jo has explained I’m lucky enough to have two places to call home ☺
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Wonderful suggestion for a day off.
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Yes, and in a lovely part of Belgium, the Hesbaye, with its quietly undulations and pretty villages
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Wonderful! how cool. And I like mazes, even if I’m hopeless at navigating my way back out. Are the “secret chambers” = secluded glades, or are there little buildings?
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Secret glades Robert; I should have been more precise. And half the fun of a maze is getting lost!
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A most magical place.. and so enjoyed my time spent wandering through these images Denzil.. Thank you for sharing them.. 🙂 Wishing you also a Magical week.
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Thanks Sue, I thought you would enjoy this place. Thanks for your good wishes; I’m off for a long weekend hiking in the Ardennes. Hope you are having a good summer.
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Enjoy your hiking trip Denzil, and thank you yes.. Enjoyed a couple of days with our granddaughter.. I hope the weather is Kind to you.. Not too good here.. 🙂
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Thank you Denzil for sharing our ‘Enchanted Garden’! – And you did it beautifully! And yes, it’s out 6th year – and it seems to get ever more Enchanting! WELCOME – BIENVENUE – WELKOM! 🙂
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I hope that this year is the most successful and the most fun so far, Tone and Ignace! It was a pleasure to publicize your lovely garden.
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Just the sort of thing I love! I wish I could visit….
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I hope your virtual visit proves sufficient for the moment Anabel.
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It did indeed, thank you!
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Applause to all these very talented artists. 🙂
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It’s always great to be in the company of talent isn’t it Judy.
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What a gorgeous, magical haven, Denzil. Your images and the captions under each are really lovely. Thank you for sharing these pretty gardens.
I believe I must say enjoy your weekend hiking too 🙋🏻🌎💐
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I’m so looking forward to it Di. I’ve got one night in a small log cabin by the side of a lake, and another in a hut on a farm, so I’m anticipating some great “back to nature” times.
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Oh that sounds utterly beautiful Denzil.
I can just imagine how pretty that will be there…
Enjoy your adventure and you are very welcome re- your second message. Very kind, thank you 💐✨✨
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Oh and thanks for your positive comments as always Di.
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It looks fantastic! I’d love to be there but I have commitments. 🙂 🙂
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Those sculptures are really neat looking. Definitely much more than a garden, I’d say it’s a work of art. Beautiful photos!
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There are some clever people around aren’t there! Thanks for stopping by.
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