The park and gardens of Athie Mill
Label "jardin remarquable"
F-21500 Athie
  Association for Parks and Gardens of Burgundy

This twelve acres site is located in the heart of Burgundy and is a mere one hour’s train journey from Paris.  It brings together a floral garden, a rose garden, a white garden and a park containing several hundred species and varieties of trees, both soft wood and hard wood. It is bordered by the Armançon and the mill’s race runs through it. This park was created at the end of the seventies and has now reached its full maturity.

Athie is surrounded by a country which holds many outstanding sites. Within a 15 miles radius you can visit Montbard, Semur en Auxois, Moutiers Saint-Jean, Epoisses, the Forges of Buffon, the castles and gardens of Lantilly, Bourbilly, Bussy Rabutin, the vineyard of Viserny, Alésia, the abbey of Fontenay …

Short history

The Athie mill dates back to the Middle-Ages. It was built by the monks of the abbey of Moutiers Saint-Jean, one of the most ancient abbeys in France.  The history of the mill is well documented since the middle of the l6th Century, when it was given to the community of monks by the commendatory abbot.  In 1555, the monks leased it to two inhabitants of Athie and their duty was to rehabilitate and service it.  Their descendants occupied it until the beginning of the18th Century.  Several millers used it in turn up until the French Revolution. In 1792 it was sold as a national belonging and remained the property of the purchasers’ descendants until 1936, who at the beginning of the 20th Century had converted the property into a dairy.  In 1936, it was sold again and became the property of a family which parted with it in 1974.  Then, overwhelmed by the beauty of the site I bought the mill and the adjacent meadows.
I immediately started work to convert what had been in the past both a factory and a agricultural venture into a house, and I put into effect  plans to change meadows, fallow and pig pens into the gardens and the park you see today.

Guided Tour

The courtyard

I left to the mill’s frontage the stern look it owes to its north exposure and that the ivy increases. I planted some azaleas, hydrangeas, “Milrose” and “Mme. Meilland” roses.  On the front of the former miller’s house, I used a climbing hydrangea and “New Dawn” roses.  The pigeon loft is a former shed with an oven attached.  Covered with two enormous flagstones, this building somewhat marred the courtyard.  Since a hip-roof was built and an ancient-looking dormer window installed, it lightens its appearance.  White pigeons on an old tile roof remind me of a bouquet of white peonies such as “Duchesse de Nemours”.

The floral Garden

The floral garden stands in the place of old hemp-fields, four or five parcels each a few metres wide that went from the road to the mill’s race and which took some decades for the formers owners to regroup.  Their efforts were, however, halted by an orchard which the owners refused to sell generation after generation, and which remains even today intruding like a thorn in the side of the garden.
The only retaliatory measure the former owners of the mill could take was to block access to the reach.  After a successful lawsuit, they had two large boundary stones installed to mark the borders of the right of way, a two metres wide strip of land on each side of the reach which allowed the miller to come and go and to service the banks.
In the first garden, we find a collection of tea roses, a group of azaleas, and groups of “Milrose” roses.  The second garden is accessed via the right of way.
This area is probably the one that required the most work.  The land was a fallow field and the fence wall had completely collapsed.  I was fortunate enough to find a pair of supports for the portal as well as a gate dating back to the 18th Century that matched the dimensions of the sites original entry way, 3 metres the measure of reference for the garden: 3 metre wide alleys and 6 by 6 metres patches.  To prevent gulley erosion, I built curbs and had soil brought to bank up the alleys.
Creating a perennial garden could well be, in our region, the most daunting enterprise for a gardener.  The soil is too heavy or too chalky and requires large and regular improvements – winters being very cold and the summers being hot and dry.
Therefore it is not a “mixed border” garden in the English tradition, nor is it even a perennial garden as it includes roses, dahlias and annuals.  It is, however, a flower garden which only the lack of things like tomatoes, cabbages and the rows of salad prevent it from being a sort of vicar’s garden.

The rose garden

The rose garden stands now in what used to be a pigsty, raised and stonewalled to remain dry in case of flooding.  The beds bordered with boxwood, occupy the space of the ancient pig boxes. There is a collection of a few more ancient varieties, as well as some English ones.  Most of the roses here are of modern varieties but I intend to replace them with ancient ones over a period of time.

The white garden

A white garden complements the rose garden.  It was created less to adopt the monochromatic garden trend, than to offer respite to tired eyes after the more colourful rose garden. In the angle it makes with the rose garden there is a pond, stocked with water lilies and gold fish.

The park

The park spreads over about 10 acres of former meadows.  It is bordered in the west by the mill’s race, and in the east by the river Armançon.  It stands therefore on an island and water lies less than two metres below the surface. The park is arranged along a north south axis that draws perspectives, and groves or curtains of trees running from east to west act as wind breaks. 
I have gathered in the park several hundred species and varieties of trees (both soft and hard wood), shrubs and ancient roses, as well as a collection of peonies.

The park throughout the seasons

Obviously, a gardener will appreciate a park all the year round.  A casual visitor will find that some months are more suitable for visits than others for example April until November.  But even a snow-clad park is not without its attractions.
First spring (April to May) – the plum, pear and apple trees together with the magnolias.  You can find about three dozen varieties of them in the park.
Second spring, (May to June) – the floral garden, the rose garden and the peonies are at their height. 
Summer – Some plants start a new bloom and, in the flower garden, the dahlias take over.  In the park, the koelreutherias, the sophoras and the hibiscus are blooming.
The end of summer and autumn are wonderful seasons in Burgundy. Roses and perennials are blooming again and the maple trees, liquidambars, nyssas, larches, taxodiums, metasequoias, Virgian tulip-trees, and pin oaks are dressed in fiery colours which contrast with the blue of the cedars, Engelmann Spruce, blue spruce or white firs.  An “Indian Summer”which lasts for weeks. 

Practical Information

Athie is 9 miles away from Montbard (easy to reach by train, including the TGV and about 12,5 miles away from the A6 highway (the exits are Avallon or Bierre lès Semur).
Please refer to the maps of the French version

The park is open from May 1st to November 11th.Visits are on appointment. Entrance fee: 3€  in aid of the human association "Jardins et Santé". Free entrance for persons under 18. Please contact me by phone at 03 80 96 74 05 (phone/ answering machine).
Unfortunately some areas of the park can be difficult to access for disabled people, but arrangements can be made with experienced attendants.
Dogs, even on a leash, are not admitted.