Pierre-Yves Lenoir

As he travels through the garden’s different atmospheres, Pierre-Yves tells me about his background.

A garden enthusiast since the age of 6 (ever since his parents gave him responsibility for a piece of their garden), he has always loved living outdoors, in contact with plants and trees. It has to be said that for him, gardening is a family affair, with a mother who loves flowers and a grandfather who loves vegetable gardens.

As an adult, he became a language teacher and nature guide. Initially self-taught with his gardens, he trained and developed his skills on his own, while working for the Burdinale-Mehaigne nature park and the Village du Saule. One day, he stumbled across a book in a flea market: “L’osiériculture” from the École Nationale d’Osiériculture et de Vannerie in Fayl-Billot, near Dijon.

That was the revelation!”

He took an interest in natural weaving, and the Village du Saule sent him to train at this famous school, one of three in Europe. After setting up the Village du Saule basketry workshops and courses, he went on to set up his own small business a few years later. At the same time, his garden is his source of inspiration, where he observes, creates and unleashes his creativity, living in harmony with nature.

Today, in addition to his work as a teacher, he still gives basketry workshops and courses, lectures on wicker, creates plant structures and accompanies in the creation of natural, pesticide-free gardens.

Open houses are organized regularly in his gardens, with occasional exhibitions by artists. Underneath the garden, a vaulted cellar also accommodates works.

We walk through the garden together, discovering its scents and every nook and cranny. Plant structures and wicker reveal themselves, as we make our way along natural paths. I learn that gardens are never the same from one year to the next. They are not “set in stone”, revealing new moods and atmospheres over time and the seasons. I’m impressed by the smells and the play of light through the leaves. The contrast of greens is magnificent. We could stay here for hours, observing, feeling each element.

Pierre-Yves has some amazing plant species, including impressive irises, a large wisteria, a space for aromatic herbs, a future orchard under construction, a wicker plantation on 30 ares.

Information and registration available by email: willowlandart@gmail.com or by telephone on 0479/94.66.02

It was very interesting to visit these atypical gardens, but above all very rewarding to meet Pierre-Yves, this basketry enthusiast, intimately linked to his natural settings.