George Sand Glossary English Trees listed for conservation as him two children: Maurice (1823-1889) and ‘Remarkable Trees’ by the charity Solange (1828-1899). In a spirit of female A.R.B.R.E.S. “[…] I sow, plant and emancipation, she adopted the pen name Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani): conifer manure my borders; George Sand in 1832 with the publication originating from Lebanon. Its fruits are cone- I dig flower beds, plant of her first novel: Indiana. Freed from marital shaped and 10 centimetres long. stakes and raise walls; tutelage several years later, the novelist spent Ginkgo (also known as Ginkgo biloba and I bring in soil from half most of her life in Nohant, where she produced Maidenhair Tree): tree originating from the a league away. Working the majority of her prolific works. In her writings, Far East. Belongs to the Ginkgoaceae family, in clogs all day, I only she expressed a passion for nature, which the oldest known family of trees, which appeared go back inside to eat she observed attentively throughout her life, over 270 million years ago. dinner […]”. especially in her garden. George Sand spent time Yew (Taxus baccata): tree originating from Europe, in her garden almost every day, alone or alongside Northern Asia and the Middle East. Has become her close friends or relatives. An extension of the rare today in its natural state. Its flowers yield George Sand (1804-1876), whose real name was house itself, this space was conducive to sharing, fleshy, bright red fruits called arils. Their seeds Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin, grew up in Nohant, awe, contemplation of nature, and bodily freedom are toxic. where she was raised by her grandmother. She that few nineteenth-century women could enjoy. Japanese Pagoda Tree (Styphnolobium japonicum): married the baron Casimir Dudevant and bore tree originating from the arid plains of China. Blossoms in cream-white panicles, generally Frankenia plant, herbarium made by George Sand in August, depending on the summer heat. Timeline Judas Tree (Cercis siliquastrum): tree originating from Southern Europe and Western Asia. George Sand’s garden 1803: ornamental grounds created by Marie Aurore 1855: exotic hens introduced and construction Blossoms with bright pink-crimson blooms “The garden is delightful. One cannot bear to leave it”. Dupin de Francueil, George Sand’s grandmother. of an ornamental henhouse. in April and May before the leaves appear. Practical information 1813: French formal garden turned into an English 1896: pond dug beneath the cedars. Boischaut Sud: natural region of France in the Free, self-guided tours of the permanent landscape garden by Madame Béranger, a friend of departments of Indre and Cher, in the Centre how she imagined her ideal garden: “[…] rather 1991 to 1993: garden restored. exhibition, puppet shows and garden. History of the site Marie Aurore Dupin de Francueil. administrative region. than neatly arranged gardens, I prefer those 1991: Corambé statue made by Françoise Vergier. Southern Catalpa (Catalpa bignonioides): tree Guided tours of the house are only available at 1823 and 1828: two cedars planted to mark In 1767, the governor of Vierzon, Philippe where soil rich in local plants allows certain originating from North America and Eastern Asia. the times and prices stated at the reception desk. the birth of George Sand’s children: Maurice 2004: tulip tree planted to mark the two- Péarron de Serennes, acquired the Nohant estate parts to be fully abandoned”. Another portion, Very large leaves and white flowers in substantial The tea room is open from April to October. and Solange. hundredth anniversary of George Sand’s birth. and undertook to build, upon a former medieval exposed to sunlight, yielded vegetables, fruit clusters. 2006: reception desk, bookshop and gift shop Centre des monuments nationaux fortress, the house we can visit today. Aurore and flowers. The garden pervaded George Sand’s 1836: property taken over by George Sand upon Eastern Black Walnut (Juglans nigra): tree fitted out in the outbuilding that formerly housed Domaine de George Sand Dupin de Francueil, the illegitimate daughter daily life. It provided a source of inspiration, a separation from husband Casimir Dudevant. originating from North America. Its drupaceous 2 place Sainte-Anne horse-drawn carriages. of Marshal Maurice de Saxe and George Sand’s backdrop for leisurely strolls, a place to revitalise fruits – black walnuts – are kernels in very hard, 36400 Nohant 1843: fruit trees changed in October. tél. 02 54 31 06 04 paternal grandmother, bought the estate in 1793. and take refuge. “I indulge in gardening fervidly, 2007: prestigious ‘Remarkable Garden’ title coarse shells. 1844: trees planted and flower beds introduced www.maison-george-sand.fr It was made up of 230 hectares of land, a private whatever the weather, for five hours a day. It awarded by French Ministry of Culture. Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera): tree native to in the cour d’honneur; trench and wall enclosing www.facebook.com/MaisonDeGeorgeSandANohant home and several outbuildings. In 1821, her dazes me so much that while digging and raking I southern and eastern America. Blossoms with grounds restored. 2013: Berry black hens reintroduced. www.monuments-nationaux.fr granddaughter inherited the property. start composing poetry […]”. In her garden, tulip-like blooms in May and June. 2014: prestigious ‘Remarkable Trees’ label she experienced unforgettable moments that 1845: winter garden and manège built. Traditional Orchard: the simplest, most for conservation given to certain trees by A writer’s garden she would recount in Histoire de ma vie (Story of traditional way of planting fruit trees, where 1853: ornamental garden built in the little wood, the charity A.R.B.R.E.S. My Life), in her letters and diaries. She cultivated they are left to grow freely. This one includes named Trianon, for George Sand’s granddaughter: The six-hectare garden has kept its original and embellished her garden avidly throughout local varieties of apple trees like Belle fille de Jeanne Gabrielle, nicknamed ‘Nini’. layout. It is made up of several distinct sections, her life. l’Indre, Sainte-Germaine and Feuilloux. 1855: family cemetery built in an exchange of plots including a small wood: this shaded, ornamental with the municipality. space for strolls was conceived as a wild spot

Traducteo. Imprimé en France, 2018. Imprimé en France, Traducteo. traduction Marie-Hélène Forestier. conception graphique illustration Claude Quiec. nationaux. des monuments domaine de George Sand / Centre Delagarde, Jean-Pierre crédits photos © Pascal Lemaître, left to develop naturally. George Sand wrote Visit

Today, you can enter George Sand’s property nineteenth century: “I love roses. They are the daughters 7 The island gives the garden a picturesque The hen garden straight from the village square, via the cour of God and man; delightful, rural beauties we have made dimension that offers a chance for isolation, d’honneur. On the right is the farm yard, and into unrivalled princesses; and, to thank us, they flower refuge and daydreaming. A meadow stretches 10 In 1855, George Sand quickly developed a on the left, the garden, which also provides access resplendently […]”. The Eastern black walnut E beyond it. Today, it is closed for security reasons passion for exotic poultry. In contact with other to the family cemetery and small wood. and three trees given the title of ‘Remarkable Trees’ 7 and is now pasture for horses. It hosted the poultry enthusiasts, she acquired eggs and hens 8 for conservation purposes flank the rose garden: manège, now gone, that George Sand fitted out that were rare in the Berry region and for which The cour d’honneur a Japanese pagoda tree C , with honey-producing H * 6 in the 1840s for her and her daughter, both she built a ‘Chinese coop’, no trace of which blooms, and two Ginkgos* D , the golden 9 10 horse-riding enthusiasts. “My daughter rides a remains today. In 2013, Berry black hens were 1 On your left as you enter the courtyard, leaves of which cover the ground in autumn. E horse […] in a beautiful open-air manège that reintroduced into the former dovecote. the former outbuilding for housing horse- D I recently had made for her. I also ride there drawn carriages is now the site’s reception desk, The cemetery C The farm yard 2 A 11 sometimes, out of love of this art form […]”. bookshop and gift shop. On the first floor, 5 F B 8 At the end of the grounds, the ‘Flaubert’ a permanent exhibition displays Maurice Sand’s 3 The family cemetery, where George Sand 1 B G lodge by the roadside marked the estate’s 11 An inner courtyard housed the novelist’s puppets. In the attic, Le Grenier Littéraire (‘The is buried among relatives, was separated F entrance at the time of George Sand. It was used horse-drawn carriages and equestrian Literary Loft’) is a special venue for cultural from the municipal cemetery in accordance 4 to accommodate guests for long stays. One of accessories. The well supplied the nearby kitchen events. with her wishes. In the words of Aurore, 3 these guests was Edmond Plauchut, a Republican with water. The sheep pen is a good example On your right as you enter the courtyard is the the writer’s granddaughter, on the day journalist and regular visitor to Nohant. He is of rural Boischaut Sud* architecture. former stable, which still has some of its hayracks. of her funeral, on 10 June 1876: “The the only friend of the family to have been buried Restored in 2010 and converted into an Since 2004, it has housed a statue sculpted by heavens wept with rain and the garden in the estate’s cemetery. auditorium, the building hosts the Nohant Auguste Clésinger, depicting George Sand as cried too […]”. A long-standing yew* F 5 The orchard is made up of around sixty apple is left to grow naturally, barely tamed by man. Festival Chopin each year in June and July, an allegory of literature. In the middle of the watches over the novelist as she rests beneath trees, planted in the traditional-orchard manner, The shrub species are the same as in George The cedar garden an event dedicated to the music of composer courtyard, pride of place is given to a hundred- her Volvic-stone tomb. * of different varieties, including some local species. Sand’s time: “In our grounds lies a small wood and pianist Frédéric Chopin. In George Sand’s year-old yew F surrounded by a catalpa A * * The strips of natural meadows surrounding the planted with hornbeams, maples, ashes, lime 9 Facing south, just behind the house, time, the farm yard was used for agricultural with spectacular, bean-shaped fruits and two The food-yielding garden trees make up a haven of biodiversity. The apples trees and lilacs”. Depending on the season, the this leisure space is directly accessed from the purposes, housing goats, cows, sheep and poultry. Judas trees* B that blossom in spring. 4 The kitchen garden, much smaller than are picked and turned into juice which is served ground is covered in moss, ivy, snowdrops, violets, dining room. It was used for eating and playing The rose garden it was in the nineteenth century, recalls the to the public at cultural events. periwinkles and ivy-leaved cyclamens. Small, in the summer: “[…] same Nohant lifestyle, sustaining purpose of George Sand’s garden. The winding paths invite visitors to wander around unchanging, peaceful and mellow […] We have Rendez-vous aux jardins: before stumbling upon Corambé, a statue made by open-air dinners, friends come along […] we during the first weekend of June each 2 At the entrance to the garden, the rose cold frame, greenhouse and press were vital to a smoke and gossip, and in the evening, when year, the French Ministry of Culture garden is evidence of George Sand’s fondness self-sufficient lifestyle. The novelist had specific Françoise Vergier in 1991 that depicts the deity they have parted, Chopin plays me piano pieces organises this event associating over of roses, which were very popular in the demands regarding this plot: “No asparaguses. No- imagined by George Sand when she was a child, one in our household likes them […]. But plenty and to which the writer devoted an altar she hid at twilight […]”. 2,300 parks and gardens – historic and of lettuce, artichokes, peas, cucumbers, green in the small wood. Large cedars of Lebanon* H , planted by contemporary, private and public – that beans, melons, and flowers”. Along the cemetery At one of the bends in the path, away from George Sand, symbolise the birth of her children, welcome more than two million visitors. wall, herbs underline the writer’s interest in onlookers, a surprising decor can be found: Maurice and Solange. their medicinal use. A small flower garden is still the remains of Trianon, the ornamental garden Adjoining the house, a structure’s foundations cultivated to decorate the house with blooms. A George Sand created for Nini, her adored reveal the place where a heated greenhouse long path, now lined with perennial plants, granddaughter: “I made a garden to my liking once stood. Accessible from the living room, separates the orchard from the kitchen garden. in my small wood. A garden made up of rocks, this winter garden dedicated to exotic plants At the end of the path is a tulip tree* G planted moss, ivy, tombs, shells and caves, it does not even yielded pineapples: “We ate the pineapple in 2004 to mark the bicentenary of the novelist’s The small wood make much sense […] It began with a rockery yesterday evening. It was delicious and Flaubert birth. On the left, a meadow full of blooms for my granddaughter and I ended up taking over said he had never eaten one that tasted so good. provides flowers to adorn the house. 6 Turned into an English landscape garden by a plot that has not stopped expanding […]”. The truth is that, in Nohant, their quality is George Sand’s grandmother, this shaded area superior […]”. see glossary. *