In Christelle & Jérôme Galland's secret garden
Where does this passion for gardens come from?
C. : I grew up in the coutryside and my grand-mother taught me how to make my plant seedlings and grow lines of vegetables.
J.: As a child, my parents bought a house nestled in the woods and decided to turn the wild expanse into a garden!
We live in an apartment with two small window ledges, one in the kitchen and other in the living room, both looking onto the street. The vegetation on both is dense, not to hide ourselves from the city, but because we see them as landscapes, places of contemplation, which enjoy the light and envolve with seasons. We favoured shrubs ans perennial plants. The only seasonals that grow are surprises sown by Christelle when harvesting seeds from faded flowers.
Each time we travel to Japan, we secretly bring back few kilos of yuzus. A very popular citrus in Japan, which has now become very trendy! I use its juice and peel to make sorbets, sugared peel and jams. I keep the seeds to grow yuzu seedlings; it takes a lot of time before they give fruits, but they make great gifts for our neighbours and friends.
Japan is a strong influence on both of us. I traveled there for the first time to photograph the pilgrimage path of Kumano Kodo. A deep, profound but very short experience. We returned a few years later with Christelle and our son to take the time to wander and discover the shrines along the way.
We dreamt of having a garden, so, with the agreement of our neighboors, we rewilded the courtyard of our building, slowly turning into a tiny woodland.
As it is North-facing, without direct sun: maples, ferns, bleeding heart flowers do well there. When I go downstairs, I tell Jérôme "I'm going to the garden!“. Whilst the plants on our balcony are fixed, the pots in the courtyard are forever moving around varying the architecture of the landscape. The BACSAC® are light enough to allow this playful ballet.
My studio is at the back of the courtyard. To get into it, I have to pass through this wilderness, like I would cross a small wood, almost bent over, catching the smell of humus and while brushing past the leaves on the branches.
In Japan, in the residential areas of Tokyo or Kyoto, many people cultivate their own little wildernesses in their front garden. Tiny gardens in pots, messily arranged and often decorated with small objects like a tree branch or small statues of characters from Japanese mythology.
Our favourite garden in Paris: The alpine garden of Jardin des plantes. A magical and unknown place which recreates the biodiversity of 32 mountain regions from across the world, including the Alps, the Caucasus end the Himalayas.
