A few years ago I watched the documentary The Gardener which was essentially the story behind Frank Cabot’s twenty-acre English style garden and summer estate Les Quatre Vents in La Malbaie, Canada {Quebec}.
And in a nutshell, I have wanted to visit ever since.
The only problem was, Les Jardins des Quatre-Vents is privately owned by the Cabot Family {and has been for generations} and is only for public tours on {4} specific dates each summer.
Tickets are SUPER hard to get, and all the money raised from the ticket prices goes to the Port-au-Saumon Ecological Centre {a non-profit organization that works with young people to raise their awareness of natural sciences}.
So when I found out back in early spring that the date for this year’s garden tours was fast approaching, I made sure to be at my computer, credit card in hand when the tickets went live and see if I could snag a few tickets.
And as it turned out, I was able to get 4 tickets for an English speaking tour!! I was beyond excited. Especially since I later found out that the tickets for that particular day sold out in less than an hour. How crazy is that!?
You would have thought I was buying tickets for a rock concert. But no, it was for a garden tour. 🙂
What a magical thing it is to see something on the telly {or online} and then to be able to stand in the very same spot and see it in person.
The gardens really did live up to my expectations and were so spectacular, that I didn’t want to leave.
Sometimes the beauty of a garden is really hard to capture with photographs, and knowing that ahead of time, I came prepared and brought along my little video camera so you could see what it would like to be there too.
We may not all be able to hop in the car and drive 8 hours just to see a garden, but through the magic of the internet, the video I shared on my YouTube channel is probably the next best thing.
I hope you’ll take a peek. There’s SO MUCH to see!!
Gardens, they sure are cool. Especially when you’re not the one doing all the weeding. 🙂
I hope you have a wonderful day,
~Mavis
Joely says
Thank you for taking us on such a magical tour. Beautiful.
Tracey says
merci beaucoup madame, for sharing another brilliant vacation!
would you remember when the tickets went on sale? marking my calendar…
Mavis Butterfield says
I believe the tickets went on sale this year on February 28th. Here is the link to the ticket sales page so you can bookmark it for next year. https://cepas.qc.ca/jardins-quatre-vents/
Karen says
Thank you for posting the videos, I enjoyed them, very much!!!!!!!!
Ashley B says
Very beautiful!! I admire you for visiting places you want to see!
Sue S. says
Wowwee and yippie doodles, c’est belle n’est pas? Merci Mavis and HH, what a spectacular spot. C’est magnifique!
Annette says
Wow. Just think, that is someone’s backyard. What are the tall blue spike flowers?