North-west of Quebec, RSL created a series of gardens for a palatial Franco-Russian style house in dramatic mountainous scenery between two lakes.
The extreme weather only allows for a short flowering period, so this was solved by planting terraces of wildflowers and plateaux of wild grasses among native trees like aspen, birch and pine. RSL then designed 20 acres of formal, classical gardens, creating big vistas to link different areas of the estate and allow the magnificence of the house to be fully appreciated.
Gigantic steps now lead the eye upwards to the ornate music pavilion on an adjacent hill, while powerful sculptures draw the eye down the formal avenue of stairs to the lake. The drive was rerouted and a Jefferson garden, with a blue, white and pink colour scheme, planted on the site of the old drive. Obelisks and trellises in terraced gardens provide structure while smaller gardens add charm, including parterre gardens and an English rose garden which the clients delightedly refer to as their ‘Monet garden’.
The result of this vast project is that the house’s splendid grandeur is now truly mirrored by spectacular gardens that show RSL’s ability to work on an epic scale.