When we arrived in Nantes in 2016, we had two goals: to open a restaurant where Victor, a trained chef, would be the head chef, and to put the principles of permaculture into practice in a city garden. Quite naturally, whilst Victor worked in the kitchen and Cécile in the garden, we wanted to create a link between these two spaces: edible flowers, herbs, fruit and vegetables from the bountiful years have enriched the menu at ‘Le Parallèle’ for seven years.

Inspired by books and encounters, we have sought to apply the principles of permaculture and the forest garden within this limited space.

Over the course of these 10 years, our little garden has become a fruitful testing ground: biodiversity, abundance, soil care as a prerequisite for healthy plants, experimenting with techniques in the vegetable patch, missteps in choosing our plants and fruit trees, compiling a “guide”, adapting to the vagaries of the weather, and the constraints of space and sunlight…

Here, we witness life at work. And to honour the third pillar of permaculture, we offer to share our experiences, exchange or give away the cuttings and seeds that the garden produces in abundance.