The French love squash, both in the garden and on the table. And fall is the season when all sorts of colorful winter courges start to appear. This month, our French Affaires’ fall trip-goers were treated to a cornucopia of beautiful squash in ‘pumpkin patches’ around the Loire Valley.
At the Château de Villandry, the squash decor was a real head-turner. For those who are not familiar with this Loire Valley jewel, Villandry could arguably possess the prettiest gardens in all of France. The Renaissance château is surrounded by a stunning tapestry of ornamental and vegetable gardens and draws thousands of visitors and gardeners each year. (More on this and other Loire gardens in future posts!)
Villandry’s potagers (kitchen gardens) included bright orange citrouilles (pumpkins) scattered in beds outlined by tailored boxwoods. In the château’s courtyard, winter squash of every variety topped this sculpted stone urn. Ripe grapes from local vineyards and other vegetables completed the photogenic view of fall’s garden bounty.
Another stop for our camera-clicking group was the storybook medieval castle and gardens of Château du Rivau. French owner Patricia Laigneau gave us a personal tour of her family’s home and grounds. The château’s large kitchen garden featured winter squash and pumpkins in expected – and unexpected – places.
Patricia also had her squashes lined up with labels identifying the specific type of courge d’hiver. It was a nice touch for the gardeners among us with visions of growing squash in home gardens. The simple display took on a decorative touch of its own.
Finally, at the Château de Valmer, owner Countess Alix de St. Venant showed us around her two-and-a-half acre potager and terraced gardens dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. Her passion for kitchen gardens is contagious, and she is well known in French gardening circles and beyond for her expertise in heirloom vegetables.
At the time of our visit, Madame de St. Venant’s winter squash had been harvested and was awaiting decorative placement for the upcoming weekend’s garden festival.
I came away from our fall garden tours inspired by so many things but particularly by the colors and shapes of the winter squash. Halloween aside, it is safe to say that the French have perfected the decorative touch with their autumn harvests – even though it probably helps to have a 15th century wall or moat handy for effect! This fall and Thanksgiving, I’m going to pay homage to the French talent and put together some French-styled squash creations of my own.
A mini-citrouille on the moat wall at Rivau
French Take-Out ~ La France à emporter
A short primer on pumpkins in France:
Citrouille – This type of pumpkin is round and orange…the pumpkin of Cinderella, or Cendrillon in French, fame. Typically not used in cooking as it lacks flavor and is stringy.
Potiron – This pumpkin is more flat than the round citrouille and is ridged around the sides. The potiron comes in a range of colors from orange to green. The flesh is sweet and silky making it perfect for making soups, tarts and other dishes.
Potimarron – This small pumpkin looks like an oversized orange fig or pear. It too can be used in various sweet and savory recipes.
To grow your own pumpkins, Botanical Interests in the U.S. offers a wonderful variety of heirloom and organic seeds. Click here for the list on their mail order website.
The Pumpkin variety Musquée de Provence