The Estate’s landscape captures the beauty and romance of an abandoned “undiscovered” village nestling in the hills above the Ionian Sea. Surrounded by ancient olive groves and an area of outstanding natural beauty, the Rou Estate has 8 acres of private landscaped gardens which have been sympathetically designed to reflect the style of a traditional hillside village.
Few areas of Corfu offer such an enchanting and unspoilt rural setting which provides a haven of tranquillity; not only because of views and utter peace, but also because of the Estate’s East-West orientation. The sun rises over the Albanian mountains and sets behind the village and Mount Pantokrator. This position results in subtle changes to colour and light throughout the day.
At the heart of the Estate lies the main courtyard with its long wisteria pergola, and romantic rose clad walls. Stone steps from this courtyard lead down through banks of heavily scented plants to the main infinity pool and Estate buildings. At the foot of the Estate, carved out of the bedrock and framed by large architectural succulents and tall elegant cypresses, lies the stunning 28m Rou Pool with uninterrupted views over the valleys below and across the Ionian Channel. The pool design is one of the most spectacular on the island and offers an unforgettable experience for swimmers who feel as if they are actually bathing in the view.
A combination of modern planting schemes and indigenous Mediterranean plants has been employed through the Estate to provide a beautiful landscape for the traditional stone houses. Plants such as lavender, rosemary, agapanthus, cistus, allium, wisteria and jasmine have been chosen for their ability to withstand the climate and terrain at [1200] feet above sea level. The landscape has also been designed to attract wildlife such as birds, bees and butterflies which are in abundance.
The gardens were designed by Jennifer Gay and Piers Goldson in close co-operation with Dominic Skinner. Both Jennifer and Piers have extensive experience of gardening in the Mediterranean. Jennifer gained a Masters in Landscape Architecture from the University of Sheffield, while Piers graduated from Pershore College of Horticulture. Both helped develop the garden of the Mediterranean Garden Society just outside Athens, while Jennifer spent several years designing and managing botanical gardens in Jerusalem, Jericho and on the island of Cephalonia. Piers has global gardening experience having cared for the Mediterranean Collection in the Great Glasshouse at the Welsh Botanics, as well as working at Longwood Gardens, Philadelphia, USA and the Haiwian Botanic Garden. Jennifer writes a regular garden column for the Athens News, and published a book Greece, Garden of the Gods in 2004.