Rebirth of a historic orchard in Parc Beaulieu

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The Beaulieu orchard is a conservatory of old, rare species specially selected for their heritage value: in a few years, the pear trees, apple trees, plum trees and quince trees will bear delicious fruit in a wide range of shapes and colours.

Cultural, visual, social and ecological benefits

In addition to its cultural, visual and social benefits, this orchard – managed in an environmentally sound manner with no chemical products – offers shelter and nesting sites for birds while providing a valuable source of food for numerous species of local fauna. Standing in the upper reaches of the park, in the same location as the historic orchard attached to the manor house in the 17th century, this fruit garden also pays homage to the history of the park and the traditional pruning know-how for standard orchards.

Standard orchard

A standard orchard is characterised by tall tree trunks in excess of 1.6 metres high and the development of a grassy area under the trees requiring little maintenance. This type of orchard was formerly used to optimise the space available in order to produce fruit on the one hand and to grow cereal crops, sow a meadow or graze livestock on the other. The latter tradition has been revived, as sheep now graze the tasty grass in the Beaulieu orchard throughout the summer until autumn, which is why the area is enclosed.

A tall fruit tree must be grown correctly from the very outset. To obtain a tree with a large crown and a stable, robust and well-ventilated framework, precise pruning and proper maintenance is required. A dozen gardeners from the SEVE have benefited from the specialist training provided by Pro Natura.

The orchard is tended to by the Parks and Gardens Department (SEVE) in collaboration with Pro Natura and Pro Specie Rara