Nourishing Ground : the Buzz about Dirt

Multi-colored Swiss Chard growing in the Sensitive Zone, Urban Farme of Saint-Denis.

Today, the “Urban Farm of Saint-Denis” is composed of the two winning projects: the Sensitive Zone (run by artist’s collective The Poetic Party – Parti poétique) – a 2.5-acre farm in permaculture around a project “nature-culture-food” and a cultural program, and the Open Farm of Saint-Denis (run by Gally Farms) – an educational and heritage farm including animals.

A Woodworker’s Dream

Benoit Lechevallier starting the Ruston & Hornsby motor of Saint Gabriel Flour Mill.  Restoration of the Saint-Gabriel Flour Mill, Saint-Gabriel-Brecy, France.

A Woodworker’s Dream | Visiting the Saint Gabriel Flour Mill Contemplating current trends in gluten-free bread, flour-less cakes and slow food, it was thought provoking to step back to post-war France and learn about technology and engineering during the industrial revolution.   This opportunity arose during a weekend visit to the town of Saint Gabriel de Brécy, Normandy. The Saint Gabriel Flour Mill, now inscribed into the Industrial Patrimony of the Calvados region, is a magnificent example of a once-working flour mill that is being carefully restored by its owners.  Closed permanently in 1975, the mill was purchased in 2012 by Isabelle Laïlle and Benoît Lechevallier (carpenter/cabinet maker).  Isabelle and Benoît have rallied local inhabitants, many of whose family members once worked at the mill, to revive the memory of this working environment and an association has been created for this purpose.  The diverse professions of this group have enabled the successful restoration to impeccable working condition of a hydraulic turbine engine fabricated by Ruston & Hornsby (UK), of which only two remain in the world, regulated by a Watt Ball Regulator. It is interesting to read in Flour Milling, A Theoretical and Practical Handbook of Flour Manufacture by Peter Kozmin … Read More

A Garden Party at Brécy Castle

Garden Party during Patrimony Day 2018 to commemorate Barbara Wirth at Brécy Castle Gardens, Saint Gabriel Brécy, France.

A Garden Party at Brécy Castle Patrimony Day in France happens once a year and enables curious visitors to see and experience treasures of French patrimony that are not typically open to the public.  This year, I had the pleasure of experiencing several special places dressed for the occasion under beautiful blue sky of mid-September all in one weekend.  The first and foremost is Brécy Castle Gardens, which I had already photographed in 2012 with a large format film camera. This year, a private invitation was launched to commemorate the fifth year of the passing of Barbara Wirth.  Gardener extraordinaire, she and her husband Didier orchestrated the restoration of the gardens of Brécy from their purchase of the château in 1992. We learn, in reading the marvelous and freshly published Florilegium of Brécy Garden by Béatrice Saalburg and Catherine Watters, that the key to the elegance of this garden is a striking harmony of “just enough” in Barbara’s selection of plants.  To complement graphically dominant yew, hornbeam and boxwood topiary, of which an intricate parterre de broderie on the ground level sets the stage for the terraces, Barbara added a savvy selection of roses, clematis, hellebore, lily and iris.  She … Read More

Sands of Time | Exhibition at Nordkraft Concept-Store in Paris

Sands of Time |  Exhibition at Nordkraft Concept-Store in Paris The exhibition Sands of Time at Nordkraft Concept-Store runs from 4 – 29 November, on the occasion of the Rencontres Photographiques du 10ème.  The selection of analog 8×10″ contact prints, as well as larger format 50×60 cm archival quality digital prints, can be purchased by contacting Elise Prudhomme directly. Nordkraft – 20 rue Lucien Sampaix – 75010 Paris