Gardens in Provence

I don't know how far you're willing to go to see a fabulous garden but if you haven't seen the garden at the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, it is worth the trip. Lots of variety, very well cared for, a lovely spot for lunch, and fantastic views.

I researched gardens in Provence for a trip in 2019 and didn't come up with much. Lyon has some wonderful gardens, but it's too far for a day trip.

hey hey CaliMom
check out french-gardens.com/southeast
french-gardens.com/southwest
theculturetrip.com/prettiest parks in marseille if you do a day trip, you may see a few you want to see and enjoy the day and train ride
theculturetrip.com/best boutique hotels in aix de provence take a walk around hotels and see the gardens are well manicured and taken care of.
aloha

This Wikipedia entry covers all of France but is organized geographically. It's basically a list including links. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ListofRemarkableGardensof_France

I agree that the gardens at the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild are nice, and I also enjoyed the two Menton gardens listed by Wikipedia. Unforutnately, Menton is virtually in Italy, so it's a very long way from Provence. Perhaps some of the other listed gardens would work out for you.

Another vote here for the Villa Ephrussi.
I think I remember a garden in Eze, mostly cacti and succulents (Provence is quite dry in the summer.) Also, the Fondation Maeght, in St. Paul de Vence, has a spectacular sculpture garden, if your taste runs to modern art.

The jardin de fontaines in Nimes has a lot of cultural interest, if not so much botanically going on,
and in August there's a fun water/lights/music festival but I don't know if it's still happening in Sept.

https://www.avignon-et-provence.com/en/parks-and-gardens/jardins-de-fontaine

Listings all mention the Roman ruins in this area which are ok, but the more recent constructions are quite interesting, including canals from the weaving and dye-ing industry -- that's why denim is called denim, after all!

Marseille has a botanical garden that’s a 45m drive from Aix-en-Provence.

To get you warmed up, see if you can find video of Monty Don's Gardens of France....or google the list of gardens in the series. Monty is a BBC garden expert who had done series in France, Italy, and Around the World's Gardens in 80 days. Also in book form. Sadly, not all are open to the public. I suspect many of the beautiful gardens are not in Botanical Gardens but also around chateaus and estates open to the public.

Monty Don on YouTube will make you yearn for France.

For another, ceremonial, use of gardening in the south, the US Rhone war cemetery near the town of Draguignan on the Riviera came as a surprise to me. I hadn't realized that the Normandy invasion was mirrored in the Mediterranean. Troops went ashore on the beaches now seen mostly as vacation hotspots. The battles turned north up the Rhone River to join the campaign in western France.

https://www.abmc.gov/Rhone

Thank you all for the wonderful ideas! Yes, Monty Don has me yearning to travel. The American Cemetery looks fascinating — I didn’t realize it was there.

Will add these to my research list!