One fine day, on the 6 april 1991, Thierry and Marie Benoîte were married in the delightful Viels-Maisons church. We, as parents, were overjoyed. I was very, but strangely distracted. I was gazing at the bouquets at the altar, the 18th century woodwork, the lovely stonework of the Norman arches…
I had to admit that I loved this church, with its chancel dating back to 1080 and felt terribly sorry to see it closed evey day of the week. like most churches in France. I wondered what I could do to open it up, if only for a few hours, so that spiritually-minded people could come and have a little chat with Good Lord. Then, as I was stepping through the door of the derelict old kitchen, which had a gate leading towards the chuch door, the brilliant idea struck me like lightning. I was looking at six apple trees, a rusty greenhouse with no panes, a long stone wall and a meadow with a few scattered box trees… So then I made up my mind, I needed to create a garden, for myself of course, but also to attract some enthousiasts who could pay a visit to ”my” church at the same time. I could invent the whole thing since I was starting from scratch. (Extract from the book entitled ”Les Jardins de Viels-Maisons” by Bertrande de LADOUCETTE and Jehan LASSERON-PHILIPS, published by Gaud)  – Photo © Rodolphe FOUCHER, avril 2006.