The park, the garden and the greenhouse

THE PARK, THE GARDEN AND THE GREENHOUSE

The park was laid out in mid XIX century by landscape gardener Xavier Kurten, whose English garden was fully realised and whose framework has been handed down to us. His design, in the new romantic picturesque English style, balanced the imposing residence building with high trees: cedars, oaks and lindens. Meandering paths, several varieties of trees such as maples, cedars, badgers, lilacs, and their leaf color changes over the different seasons were chosen for their beauty and evocative power.
Like on all projects he developed in piedmontese royal residences, at Pralormo Kurten planned a landscape perspective managing wide alleys and grassland. Taking full advantage of the stunning mountain scenery, here he enhance it sculpting the tress knowingly to catch some glimpses of the Alps, from the Cadibona pass to the Monterosa and the magnificent Monviso featuring a major role.

Thanks to these scenery elements the park became a “Path of Delight” filled with “eye-catchers”, sounds, colors, pastoral corners, romantic composition. Picturesque planting was design to display a spontaneous sense of beauty, selecting plants with purpose that have captivating foliage, flowers and fragrance and also attract birds all year around offering their singing to the wandering visitor.

In a separated area of the English park, almost “a secret garden”, is the stunning conservatory glass-house originally commissioned in Paris to the Lefebvre Brothers at the end of XIX century by Carlo Beraudo di Pralormo as a wedding gift for his bride Matilde. Built on the southern thick wall of the castle, it allowed her to grow flowers and plants that wouldn’t survive during cold winters: citrus, orchids and other exotic species fashionable at the time.

In October and in March the greenhouse becomes a proper colorful “jardin d’hiver”, filled with scented citrus, fruit plants and a precious collection of orchids.

The greenhouse overlooks a cozy garden characterized by a rotation blooming year long, asked by countess Matilda at the end of the XIX century.

Since the first rose garden was planted in 16th century, women of the Beraudo di Pralormo’s family have always been passionate of garden and flowers. Passing their love through the generations, they keep and transmitted little secrets to transform leaves, flowers and berries into amazing floral sets.