Very yellow and dry lawns. The Château d’Amboise is not spared. Garden lawns are well hit by drought. A few days ago, the management took the decision to no longer water the soil gardens in Naples and the Orient in particular. Lawns completely abandoned until the end of the drought alert. This allows the site save up to 50% water every day.
Watering only at night, but not everywhere
During the day in the gardens of the monument site, it is impossible to come across a gardener watering this summer. Watering is done only at night, to avoid evaporation, and not in all areas of the gardens. Some sectors are watered every two nights, while only the central lawn is watered every night“the most visible and the one that hosts the most demonstrations” explains Marc Métay, the director of Château d’Amboise.
The gardens of Amboise are said to be Mediterranean, (privileged link with Italian or Algerian cultures), composed of rosemary, jasmine, or even Portuguese laurels, varieties that withstand heat and require little water. “Like what, we can do aesthetic things while being virtuous in terms of water consumption” rejoices Marc Métay.
It is important to us to take the lead, that companies, like monuments, participate in the collective effort in the face of the drought – Marc Métay, the director of Château d’Amboise.
The Château d’Amboise participates in the collective effort
The gardeners could continue to water, but the decision of the management was likely to anticipate the drought and to take a turn in terms of ecology, “we don’t wait for the decisions of the State to do it” says Marc Métay. “It is important to us to take the lead, that companies, like monuments, participate in the collective effort in the face of drought, among other things. We must not stay with blinkers, we could still continue to water, we have the right, but our view of the gardens must evolve”.
Tourists not bothered, on the contrary
Faced with these decisions, the director also naturally advances the gaze of his visitors “This may appeal to some of them, those used to seeing very green gardens, watered everywhere, and unlike people who are very attentive and therefore surprised to see green lawns in a critical period like this when the We ask everyone to make an effort”.
And then yellow lawns when visiting the emblematic site of Amboise, it doesn’t matter say the tourists. “We can see that it is dry this summer, it looks like our lawn” this is the first reflection made by Noémie. “it places the Château d’Amboise in its time, it is a castle that has gone through the ages and currently our time is marked by drought” perfectly sums up this tourist from Essonne (91).
For Franck, who came from Saint-Denis (93), “It is the space as a whole and the beauty of the place that is most important, rather than stopping at the aesthetic side of the gardens”. For her part, Karine from Lyon can only approve of the management’s decision, “With the fires this summer, if everyone does not try to do a little bit, it would be a shame”.
Saving water, the first step in a green transformation
A reflection is currently underway on the creation of covered plant spaces in the gardens, to create shade, for the comfort of visitors. “We will see trees grow soon” warns director Marc Métay, “but not tall trees, we will protect the superb view of the Loire” reassures the boss since 2020 of the site.
Managing water in the face of drought is only a first step for Château d’Amboise. The monument will adapt sustainably to ecological issues. As of next year, the management is tackling, for example, the insulation of the Château, considered today as a real thermal sieve.