0:00:02 > 0:00:05'What images does France conjure up for you?
0:00:05 > 0:00:10'Now, for me, there are beautiful houses and gardens of all kinds,
0:00:10 > 0:00:14'but also glorious markets, street cafes
0:00:14 > 0:00:17'and some very formative experiences.'
0:00:17 > 0:00:21When I was 19, I came to the south of France
0:00:21 > 0:00:24and lived in Aix en Provence for six months and
0:00:24 > 0:00:27ever since then, I've loved France and everything to do with it.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30And I want to share that passion for the country with you
0:00:30 > 0:00:32through its gardens.
0:00:32 > 0:00:38'I'll discover what their gardens reveal about French history,
0:00:38 > 0:00:42'their love of food, the soil and the arts,
0:00:42 > 0:00:46'and why they value order and structure so highly.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52'I'll be travelling the byways of the French countryside...'
0:00:52 > 0:00:54This is what a 2CV was made for.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56'..meeting local gardeners...'
0:00:56 > 0:00:58Bonjour! Je m'appelle Monty.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Bonjour. Enchante.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03'..tasting the very best of their harvest...'
0:01:03 > 0:01:05Sometimes this job is really good.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09'..getting to turn on huge fountains...'
0:01:09 > 0:01:11I can hear the water.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16'..and trying to find out what makes French gardens,
0:01:16 > 0:01:19'and indeed the French, unique.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22'Today, I'm looking into how the famous French love of food
0:01:22 > 0:01:25'translates into their kitchen gardens.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47'It's a busy weekday market in Aix en Provence.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50'Beneath the shade of the plane trees, the stalls are rich with
0:01:50 > 0:01:53'delicious-looking fruit and vegetables.'
0:01:54 > 0:01:57Ooh, I'd love a cherry.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Bonjour. Des cerises, c'est combien?
0:02:00 > 0:02:0124.9.
0:02:08 > 0:02:09'This is not just for the tourists.'
0:02:09 > 0:02:11Merci.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14'Unlike the UK, where we buy more of our food from supermarkets,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17'about a third of French people still buy their fruit
0:02:17 > 0:02:19'and veg from markets like these.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24'The displays are all part of the shopping experience.'
0:02:24 > 0:02:26Look at that.
0:02:26 > 0:02:27That's just beautiful.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31Well, wouldn't you just want to have that at home?
0:02:36 > 0:02:39'40 years ago, when I first came here,
0:02:39 > 0:02:42'it was completely transforming.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46'I'd grown up in a Britain where the food was remorselessly dreary,
0:02:46 > 0:02:48'regarded as a bodily function rather than
0:02:48 > 0:02:50'one of life's great pleasures.'
0:02:52 > 0:02:54So to come here and be exposed to the market
0:02:54 > 0:03:00and all these incredible vegetables, and taste, and the smell of it all.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03And to eat food that I'd only heard about
0:03:03 > 0:03:06and then to connect that with the vegetables that
0:03:06 > 0:03:09I was already growing at home and realise that
0:03:09 > 0:03:10perhaps I could grow these, too.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14And the connection between what I was doing with my hands
0:03:14 > 0:03:18in the soil and what I was eating was life-changing.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22'Now, all these years later,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25'I want to see how these fabulous fruit and vegetables are grown.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36'The story of the French kitchen garden begins in
0:03:36 > 0:03:39'mediaeval monasteries and unfolds via the decadent vegetable gardens
0:03:39 > 0:03:43'of the grand chateau to modern-day rural smallholdings.
0:03:45 > 0:03:50'One in two French people regularly buy local produce, because the
0:03:50 > 0:03:54'attachment to the particular region and its soil still has real meaning.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02'I'm getting around in a little 2CV.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04'Of course, it's fun to drive
0:04:04 > 0:04:07'but, in fact, a 2CV is exactly the right car for the job.'
0:04:09 > 0:04:13They were developed before the last war as an agricultural vehicle.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16They were designed to take a farmer and his family,
0:04:16 > 0:04:18with a load of eggs, to market,
0:04:18 > 0:04:22across roughly ploughed ground without damaging the produce.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27That was the important thing. They had to be reliable and tough.
0:04:27 > 0:04:32And so it is the ideal car to drive around France
0:04:32 > 0:04:36looking for that connection between growing and gardens,
0:04:36 > 0:04:38food and the land.
0:04:43 > 0:04:49'My first port of call is in the rugged landscape of the Cevennes.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52'It's a remote and largely impoverished area
0:04:52 > 0:04:56'and many years ago, I made a long walk right across it.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00'But today, I'm here to visit a nunnery,
0:05:00 > 0:05:04'the Monastere de Sona, which is a first for me.'
0:05:09 > 0:05:13The reason I wanted to come to a monastery was because the root
0:05:13 > 0:05:17of vegetable-growing started in the monastic tradition,
0:05:17 > 0:05:21where nuns and monks would grow vegetables and herbs
0:05:21 > 0:05:24for the kitchen, and also for medicine,
0:05:24 > 0:05:27and also the process of doing it was a kind of prayer.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29It was a devotion.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32So that tradition actually continues through to the present day,
0:05:32 > 0:05:37but it starts, or started, in the monasteries.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49It's very difficult to contact them, they don't speak,
0:05:49 > 0:05:53you can only ring them once a week, so I hope to God they're there.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55I must remember not to blaspheme.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Mustn't say "hope to God", or stuff like that.
0:06:02 > 0:06:03Can I hear footsteps?
0:06:04 > 0:06:07- Bonjour.- Bonjour.
0:06:08 > 0:06:14- Je suis Monty.- Pardon?- Je m'appelle Monty.- Bonjour.- Bonjour.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19'Today is one of the rare days
0:06:19 > 0:06:23'when they break their silence to receive visitors.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26'There's been a monastery on this site since 1300
0:06:26 > 0:06:30'and the mother superior, who spoke perfect English, showed me around.'
0:06:32 > 0:06:37Our vegetable garden is very - how can we say that? - modest.
0:06:37 > 0:06:43And you can't say that it's exemplary from the aesthetic point of view.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47Excuse me. I'll just grab the hat.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51So how many of you work in this vegetable garden?
0:06:51 > 0:06:53'There are 16 nuns living here
0:06:53 > 0:06:56'and as well as a rigorous regime of prayer, they run a winery.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00'And they still manage to be almost entirely self sufficient.'
0:07:00 > 0:07:04You say it's modest - it's a big area. It's a big vegetable garden.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06- It is, it is.- Lots of work.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10It is a lot of work but we are a lot of people eating here.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12A lot of people eating is one thing,
0:07:12 > 0:07:15you have to have a lot of people working.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17- As well.- Yes.- That's true.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20And these are courgettes, squashes or pumpkins?
0:07:20 > 0:07:24Yes, pumpkins, and courgettes. We have two kinds.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28Everything is sort of, like, mixed up.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30You've got lots.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33- We have about one ton production... - One ton?
0:07:33 > 0:07:37- ..of pumpkins per year. - What do you do with them?
0:07:37 > 0:07:40- We eat them through the whole winter.- OK.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42'Ask a silly question.'
0:07:42 > 0:07:45I love all vegetables. I'm not bored, I'll look at anything.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47You'll look at anything?
0:07:47 > 0:07:49Here we have our cucumbers.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53So cucumbers, you see, growing so lushly and so well outside.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55We struggle to grow cucumbers outside.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Would it be very rude if I cut one and tasted it?
0:07:58 > 0:07:59Oh, not at all.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04Oh, I'm dropping my phone, and my glasses.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Everything always drops out of my pocket.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09I do it at home the whole time. So...
0:08:11 > 0:08:16It looks nice. Ah, it... Smell that.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19- Mmm. Refreshing. - All cucumber freshness.
0:08:19 > 0:08:20So this...
0:08:25 > 0:08:28It's good, it's not quite ripe, but it's good. Want some?
0:08:28 > 0:08:31Yes, I would. Thanks a lot.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33Not quite ready, a little bit bitter.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36I'm afraid I've wasted it.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39It should have been in the soil a little bit longer.
0:08:39 > 0:08:40Don't worry.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48'I suspect that this monastic scene has changed little
0:08:48 > 0:08:50'since its mediaeval inception.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54'It has the same workmanlike mixture - fruit, vegetables and
0:08:54 > 0:08:57'medicinal herbs that set the model for all
0:08:57 > 0:09:00'subsequent French kitchen gardens.'
0:09:00 > 0:09:02This is for real.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06They do not grow vegetables because they like the experience or
0:09:06 > 0:09:08because it peps up their diet.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11They grow vegetables because that is what they eat,
0:09:11 > 0:09:13and if they don't grow them, they don't eat,
0:09:13 > 0:09:17and their choice of vegetables is influenced by that.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19There's an awful lot of things that will store well,
0:09:19 > 0:09:22a lot of things that grow well here.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26They can't afford to play at it in any sense of the word.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29So there is an edge to this,
0:09:29 > 0:09:33a kind of really deep survival seriousness,
0:09:33 > 0:09:37which they seem to go through with extraordinary grace.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41But these are very hard-working, efficient, busy people.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45BELL RINGS
0:09:45 > 0:09:49'A bell marks the start of the brief 20-minute break
0:09:49 > 0:09:53'allocated for dinner, and I join the nuns to share their home-grown meal.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57'The food is simple but good.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00'Though alas, it's not a saint's day, so no wine.
0:10:02 > 0:10:07'And everyone tucks in with gusto, accompanied by devotional reading.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15'The highly practical mediaeval monastic gardens led to
0:10:15 > 0:10:17'the development of the potager -
0:10:17 > 0:10:20'the French style of kitchen gardening
0:10:20 > 0:10:23'where looks matter as much as the quality or quantity
0:10:23 > 0:10:24'of food that's grown.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27'And I'm visiting a beautiful example in the Luberon,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30'a couple of hours east of the Cevennes.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36'After the un-manicured harshness of the Cevennes,
0:10:36 > 0:10:39'the Luberon seems more affluent.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41'The sun is still scorching.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45'My little car isn't made for long, hot journeys.'
0:10:45 > 0:10:46GEARS GRIND
0:10:46 > 0:10:49A classic 2CV experience, caught between two gears.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53'I've come to the vineyard of Val Joanis,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56'near Pertuis, to visit its ornate potager...
0:10:58 > 0:11:03'..where flowers elegantly combine with fruit and vegetables.'
0:11:07 > 0:11:11That is a healthy, happy hollyhock.
0:11:11 > 0:11:12Just shows you what they like -
0:11:12 > 0:11:15lots and lots of sunshine.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25'The word "potager" comes from the French "potage", meaning soup,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28'and originally referred to the patch where the ingredients were
0:11:28 > 0:11:30'grown for the bowl of soup that was the mainstay
0:11:30 > 0:11:32'of most people's midday meal.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36'But this has evolved to become something much more elaborate,
0:11:36 > 0:11:40'and as meticulously controlled as the vines that grow
0:11:40 > 0:11:42'all around the garden here at Val Joanis.'
0:11:44 > 0:11:47All the skills and discipline of growing
0:11:47 > 0:11:50and training vines can be seen in this garden.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54They have oak trees trained and growing as
0:11:54 > 0:11:56very tight strict triangles.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59In fact, there's some oak trees over there,
0:11:59 > 0:12:01which are just thin little columns
0:12:01 > 0:12:04with finials on top and joining in lattice work.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09And the whole thing, the whole garden, is a display,
0:12:09 > 0:12:14an expression of the skills of man in controlling plants.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18And that, really, is the root of the French potager.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22It's controlling food production so not only it looks good,
0:12:22 > 0:12:24but it does what it's told.
0:12:28 > 0:12:33'So this garden takes the idea of a monastic garden
0:12:33 > 0:12:35'and then turns it on its head.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41'Rather than existing to grow enough food to see you through winter,
0:12:41 > 0:12:46'it is an ostentatious demonstration of wealth, power and taste.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51'This style of gardening began in the north of France,
0:12:51 > 0:12:54'but before I head off that way, I want to try
0:12:54 > 0:12:57'and get to grips with the French love of soil.'
0:12:57 > 0:12:58OK, let's have a look.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05'My guide is Arnaud, Val Joanis' wine-maker, or vigneron.'
0:13:11 > 0:13:13Very dry.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15This year is very dry.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19'The key to this respect for the soil is the word "terroir",
0:13:19 > 0:13:23'which is an almost mystical combination of soil and place.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26'It gives every wine its distinct local character.'
0:13:26 > 0:13:34The soil here is very dry, bone dry.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42- Clay?- Clay.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44- Any lime?- Lime.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53And how important is it?
0:14:16 > 0:14:18- You must know the soil, you must know the climate.- Yeah.
0:14:18 > 0:14:24And is that something you have to grow up with,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27or can you learn it from a book?
0:14:27 > 0:14:30No. You can't.... It's the...
0:14:32 > 0:14:34- The feeling?- ..The feeling.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38'So how does this alchemy of soil, sun and the vine
0:14:38 > 0:14:41'distil itself into a glass?'
0:14:41 > 0:14:42Mmm. Gosh!
0:14:42 > 0:14:48So here we are, in Provence, beautiful day, a fine wine, cheers.
0:14:48 > 0:14:49Cheers.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53'Terroir is an elusive concept
0:14:53 > 0:14:57'but it is at the heart of the French relationship with their food.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01'We'll see how it applies to growing vegetables and other fruit later.'
0:15:01 > 0:15:05- Your soil is so stony. - Yes, we have a lot of stones.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08- You have masses! - Yes, but it's very good.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12'But now it's time to leave the sunshine for a while,
0:15:12 > 0:15:16'head north and visit the most famous potager in the world.
0:15:24 > 0:15:29'This is the Chateau of Villandry in the Loire Valley -
0:15:29 > 0:15:32'500 miles away from Provence and another climate entirely.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39'This garden, which looks very old, was in fact only created just
0:15:39 > 0:15:42'over 100 years ago, based on the notion of what the kitchen garden
0:15:42 > 0:15:46'might have been like when the chateau was in
0:15:46 > 0:15:49'its Renaissance heyday in the 16th century.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59'On my way to find the head gardener, I get distracted
0:15:59 > 0:16:03'and bedazzled by the sheer number of celery seedlings.'
0:16:06 > 0:16:0839, 40.
0:16:08 > 0:16:14So there are 40 times four trays, that's 160 trays,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17and each tray takes 20.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21So that's 3,200 pots. How about that?
0:16:24 > 0:16:27'I find Laurent in the lovely 18th-century greenhouse,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30'shaped like an upturned boat, potting up peppers.'
0:16:33 > 0:16:37So how many plants do you raise here for the potager?
0:16:43 > 0:16:4470,000.
0:16:51 > 0:16:57Of the 140,000 plants, how much is eaten?
0:16:57 > 0:16:59How much is grown to eat?
0:17:39 > 0:17:43'The produce from this potager is not destined for potage,
0:17:43 > 0:17:48'or any other kind of meal. Everything here is for show.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51'In fact, Laurent told me that the vast majority of vegetables
0:17:51 > 0:17:53'end up on the compost heap,
0:17:53 > 0:17:56'including no less than 30,000 lettuces.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02'It's been suggested that, in the 16th century, it was intended
0:18:02 > 0:18:07'as a display of the exotic plants newly arrived from the Americas.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09'A kind of edible cabinet of curiosities
0:18:09 > 0:18:12'to be proudly displayed to visitors,
0:18:12 > 0:18:16'which is exactly what it is today.'
0:18:16 > 0:18:20Of course, Villandry has always been popular and very well known,
0:18:20 > 0:18:24but it became especially popular in Britain in the 1980s, I think,
0:18:24 > 0:18:29because up until then, the model for aspiring vegetable growers
0:18:29 > 0:18:33and social climbers was the Victorian walled garden,
0:18:33 > 0:18:38and inside that walled garden you had your vegetables in long rows.
0:18:38 > 0:18:43And then in the 1980s, Rosemary Verey made the potager really popular,
0:18:43 > 0:18:48and that word entered into gardening fashionable talk.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51"How's your potager?" they would say in Hackney and Islington.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54And the difference was that you chose your vegetables
0:18:54 > 0:18:57and you laid them out for decorative purposes.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00You still ate them, and you still wanted to grow them well,
0:19:00 > 0:19:05but decoration and little box hedges became part of the scene.
0:19:05 > 0:19:10And, of course, the model of all that, the big daddy of all potagers, was here at Villandry.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18'The potager is only part of a much bigger and wonderful garden at
0:19:18 > 0:19:21'Villandry, but its ornamental rigour sets the tone
0:19:21 > 0:19:24'for the whole place.'
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Here, the herb garden,
0:19:26 > 0:19:29and even plants like horseradish has
0:19:29 > 0:19:35had its leaves trimmed off, all uniform size and length.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38And lovage, which in my garden is an explosion of a plant,
0:19:38 > 0:19:42six foot tall and bursting out all over the place,
0:19:42 > 0:19:46is marshalled into a sort of tight, orderly battalion.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55There's no question, to my mind,
0:19:55 > 0:19:59that Villandry is one of the great gardens of the world.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02And if you're in France and if you have any interest in gardens,
0:20:02 > 0:20:04come here.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08But I find the potager disappointing.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10It leaves me unsettled.
0:20:10 > 0:20:15And I think that's because function and form have grown too far apart.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19Where vegetables are not grown to eat at all,
0:20:19 > 0:20:22something really essential is lost.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25There's no sense of becoming, of growing, of evolving.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29And then, of course, the pleasure and excitement of harvest.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32And if it's all just grown to be a static picture,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35it's just not enough, and of course it needn't be vegetables.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38It could be coloured glass or waxworks,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41and that would give exactly the same effect.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46'Nevertheless, with its box-hedged beds containing uniform ranks
0:20:46 > 0:20:49'of ornamental vegetables, there are a thousand gardens
0:20:49 > 0:20:51'around the world, including my own,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54'that owe a direct debt to Villandry.'
0:21:00 > 0:21:03That's it, we're cresting the wave, will I get to the top?
0:21:03 > 0:21:07- We're just about to do it/ Yes! - GEARS CREAK
0:21:07 > 0:21:08Ooh, Gawd! Broken.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11There we are.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13There are 15 cars behind me.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15HE LAUGHS
0:21:16 > 0:21:20'I'm on my way to a potager near Paris that grows and sells a huge
0:21:20 > 0:21:24'amount of produce and, I think, should be much better than known.
0:21:24 > 0:21:29'Every year, hundreds of thousands of tours flock to Versailles,
0:21:29 > 0:21:32'home of France's most flamboyant ruler, Louis XIV.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37'He commissioned the magnificent gardens here,
0:21:37 > 0:21:38'which we saw last week.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42'But hardly any of these visitors go just round the corner
0:21:42 > 0:21:44'from the palace to another of these creations,
0:21:44 > 0:21:47'which, in its own way, is just as extravagant.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52This is the potager du roi at Versailles,
0:21:52 > 0:21:55made for the Sun King, Louis XIV, in the 17th century,
0:21:55 > 0:21:58and they've been growing fruit and vegetables here ever since.
0:22:01 > 0:22:07'The place is just huge, covering over 23 acres of walled garden,
0:22:07 > 0:22:11'created to supply the King with fruit and vegetables that he adored.
0:22:12 > 0:22:17'I met up with Antoine Jacobsen, who is the current head gardener.'
0:22:17 > 0:22:21- How many people work here? - There are ten permanent gardeners.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25- Oh. So not that many. - No, not enough.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27THEY LAUGH
0:22:27 > 0:22:30'The potager du roi is a superb demonstration of one of France's
0:22:30 > 0:22:35'great contributions to horticulture - elaborate pruning -
0:22:35 > 0:22:39'which is based upon the principle of restricting growth while keeping
0:22:39 > 0:22:44'as much fruit as possible, and making it look as good as possible.'
0:22:44 > 0:22:47Most of the trees that we have in this garden are 19th century.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51There's one just over there that is late 18th century.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53- Which one? Show me.- Right here.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58- Oh, this one. - Yes. This one here.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03- Which you never see in Britain. - In this case, for this shape,
0:23:03 > 0:23:06the idea is to have as much light get into the tree as possible,
0:23:06 > 0:23:10so that we have fruit along all the branches.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14If you want this branch to have some light, we have to take this one off
0:23:14 > 0:23:18and leave this one, so that the top one can continue to be vigorous.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24Every branch, every stem needs consideration?
0:23:24 > 0:23:29Each tree gets individual attention. Each tree has to be understood.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34''Until the end of the 18th century, all pruning was limited
0:23:34 > 0:23:37'by what could be achieved with a single bladed,
0:23:37 > 0:23:39'curved pruning knife, a serpette.
0:23:39 > 0:23:44'But then the secateurs were invented, by a Frenchman of course.'
0:23:44 > 0:23:48It was the curved blade and the fact you could use just one hand
0:23:48 > 0:23:51meant you could put your hand in, holding a pair of secateurs,
0:23:51 > 0:23:55and make a very precise cut on quite floppy material.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00And that had the effect of refining pruning
0:24:00 > 0:24:02and changing the shapes that were produced.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05So, by the mid-19th century,
0:24:05 > 0:24:09people were pruning their fruit into much more ornate
0:24:09 > 0:24:14and sometimes really fantastical shapes, all because they could.
0:24:15 > 0:24:20'This potager works for me in a way that Villandry doesn't,
0:24:20 > 0:24:24'and this is precisely because it IS a working garden.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26'Form and function meet.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28'And nowadays, when the fruit is harvested,
0:24:28 > 0:24:32'it's sold at the garden gates to passers-by.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35'That's what a revolution can do for you.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40'The decorative potager is France's most famous kitchen garden tradition,
0:24:40 > 0:24:44'but the urge to grow one's food is deep in the French psyche.'
0:24:48 > 0:24:50INDISTINCT SPEECH
0:24:55 > 0:24:57'These are the jardins ouvriers, or worker's gardens,
0:24:57 > 0:24:59'in one of the poorest districts of Paris.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02'Over 40% of those out of work or retired
0:25:02 > 0:25:03'grow some produce for their table.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07'As in Britain, the allotment movement followed
0:25:07 > 0:25:11'the drift of workers coming from the country to the city,
0:25:11 > 0:25:14'bringing with them the skills and experience of growing food.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18'Eliane D'aviot has had her plot longer than most,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21'and I'm paying her a visit.'
0:25:21 > 0:25:22Bonjour.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27THEY LAUGH
0:25:34 > 0:25:35Je m'appelle Monty.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37OK, I won't slip, don't worry.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40Bonjour monsieur. Vous allez bien?
0:25:53 > 0:25:56Je crois que vous jardiner ici pour 40 ans.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33C'est formidable. Et vous avez des fleurs?
0:27:17 > 0:27:20- THEY LAUGH - You share it.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23'It strikes me that Eliane's allotment shares as much
0:27:23 > 0:27:26'with its British counterpart as it does with the French potager.'
0:27:32 > 0:27:34Ohh, merci!
0:27:37 > 0:27:38THEY LAUGH
0:27:38 > 0:27:41Merci, madame. Vous etes tres gentille.
0:27:44 > 0:27:49- Au revoir!- Au revoir. Et merci beaucoup!- Merci a vous!
0:27:50 > 0:27:52Au revoir!
0:27:52 > 0:27:54SHE LAUGHS
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Oh, that feels like a jar.
0:28:04 > 0:28:05A-ha!
0:28:06 > 0:28:08So nice of her.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11Chutney...I think.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17Prunes. 2011.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Prune...actually jam, it looks like.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26There is something about the freemasonry of gardeners,
0:28:26 > 0:28:30and particularly of allotmenteers, that transcends nation and age
0:28:30 > 0:28:36and circumstance, and it's just filled with a kind of benign,
0:28:36 > 0:28:39easy generosity.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42And, of course, it makes me feel like a bit of a heel.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44Let's see what else I've got.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47Turning up and taking gifts, not leaving anything in return,
0:28:47 > 0:28:51but actually, it sows the seed of something good.
0:28:51 > 0:28:55There's other pots of jam in there, there's all kinds of things.
0:28:55 > 0:28:56And me a stranger.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01And actually, the goodwill that produces does ripple through
0:29:01 > 0:29:05and, you know, there's something about allotments
0:29:05 > 0:29:09and places that is a sort of lingua franca.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13It's different. All the flowers and trees are different to any allotment
0:29:13 > 0:29:15I've seen in England.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18But you know where you are, you feel at home.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22'Like most of her fellow allotmenteers,
0:29:22 > 0:29:24'Eliane was not born in Paris.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28'The allotments are the urban version of a tradition that
0:29:28 > 0:29:32'comes from the deep rural heart of France, which is nowadays
0:29:32 > 0:29:36'found most readily here, back down in the south.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55'It's easy to underestimate how very different these two cultures are.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59'If the classic kitchen garden of the north is
0:29:59 > 0:30:02'a rich man's decorative potager, then the south has
0:30:02 > 0:30:05'the productive plot of the paysan to support his family
0:30:05 > 0:30:07'off their small piece of land.
0:30:09 > 0:30:14'I've come back to the Cervennes to visit a couple I got to know,
0:30:14 > 0:30:18'who have a 21st-century version of the paysan way of life.'
0:30:21 > 0:30:24One of the things that fascinates me
0:30:24 > 0:30:27is that paysan, or peasant,
0:30:27 > 0:30:31is an honourable state in France, whereas if you call someone
0:30:31 > 0:30:35a peasant in England, you're not really being flattering.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39The peasant culture was very simply living off the land.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43The peasants were people who fed themselves
0:30:43 > 0:30:47and fertilised their fields and looked after their animals
0:30:47 > 0:30:49off the land they had.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52It might have been very small indeed.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55Now, do I go left or right? I think I go left.
0:30:55 > 0:31:02And that still remains something that the French practise and,
0:31:02 > 0:31:05more importantly, respect.
0:31:05 > 0:31:10And all their food culture stems from that.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14That you grow your food on the patch of land you have.
0:31:15 > 0:31:21'This is le jardin des Sambucs, hewn by Nicolas and Agnes Bruckin
0:31:21 > 0:31:25'out of rocky land, which was once her grandmother's chicken run.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27'They have a small cafe here
0:31:27 > 0:31:30'and grow almost all the food for it themselves.'
0:31:30 > 0:31:34Here we are, this is where I'm supposed to go.
0:31:34 > 0:31:36CAR HORN BEEPS
0:31:36 > 0:31:38I think I'm blocking the road. OK.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42Pardon!
0:31:47 > 0:31:50Here we are. Gosh, it's grown.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53- Nicolas! - Monty! How are you?
0:31:53 > 0:31:58I'm very well. Very nice to see you. You've got your tooth as well.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01Yes! Took a long time. I have it now.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04- You look very handsome. - Ah, you remember that.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12When I came here last time, Nicolas was missing one front tooth,
0:32:12 > 0:32:15and he looked very dashing and dramatic.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18- I was looking like a pirate. - You were!
0:32:18 > 0:32:20How are you, Monty?
0:32:20 > 0:32:24- Tres bien! It's very nice to see you.- Not too hot?- It is hot.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27- It's going to be very hot. - Is it, is it?
0:32:29 > 0:32:32'The Cervennes has long attracted an alternative lifestyle,
0:32:32 > 0:32:38'and the garden does have a touch of the hippy about it.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42'But there's a real charm in the stone paths that corkscrew
0:32:42 > 0:32:46'round the slopes and the loose, untrammelled planting.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56'The garden nestles into the wild landscape that surrounds it
0:32:56 > 0:33:00'and provides precious shade in the searing sun,
0:33:00 > 0:33:04'but unlike the elaborate decorative potagers of the north,
0:33:04 > 0:33:08'the vegetables are grown separately, on a plot down the road.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15'It's 40 degrees today and yet, last winter, it went down to minus 17.'
0:33:18 > 0:33:20Voila, little bit of air.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22- There is a breeze.- A little bit.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26'And yet Nicolas manages to grow all the fruit and vegetables
0:33:26 > 0:33:29'for their family and for their small cafe.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31'I want to see how he goes about it.'
0:33:35 > 0:33:36Strawberries.
0:33:36 > 0:33:38Have they been good this year?
0:33:38 > 0:33:43Yeah. Perfect, perfect. Strawberries like a cold winter.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46- Cold winter, hot summer.- Yes.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49- And water.- And water.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52What variety is this?
0:33:52 > 0:33:53That's "Mara du Bois".
0:33:53 > 0:33:56"Mara du Bois"? Very good. I grow "Mara du Bois".
0:33:56 > 0:33:58My "Mara du Bois" not as good.
0:34:04 > 0:34:05Slightly perfumed.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11Mm, lovely.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15Look, your soil is so stony.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18- Yes, we get a lot of stones. - Masses of stones.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20But that's very good.
0:34:20 > 0:34:22Because it heats.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25- The stone heats up? - Heats up the earth.
0:34:25 > 0:34:26And it keeps the water, also.
0:34:26 > 0:34:32We have a natural mulch. Stones are very good for mulching.
0:34:35 > 0:34:37But quite hard work.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39Yes, it's not an easy soil, yes.
0:34:41 > 0:34:45They used to say, where I live, they say,
0:34:45 > 0:34:46"Your soil will break your back,
0:34:46 > 0:34:51"maybe break your heart, but never break your bank balance."
0:34:51 > 0:34:53Ah, very nice.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56I like your tools.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59- Yes.- What do you call this?
0:34:59 > 0:35:02This is a sappe.
0:35:02 > 0:35:06We say mattock. Where I come from, it's called a stocker.
0:35:06 > 0:35:07And what do you do with that?
0:35:07 > 0:35:09You chop weeds.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12Ah, the weeds. It must be more sharp.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15Yeah, like that, or you turn the soil over.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17- OK,- OK. Like that.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21- Oh, yeah, yeah.- It digs, it's good.
0:35:21 > 0:35:26But here we have this one. This is a special one.
0:35:26 > 0:35:28That's good, that's heavy.
0:35:28 > 0:35:33- It's called a bigot.- A bigot? - A bigot. Here, everybody has one.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35Everyone has one?
0:35:35 > 0:35:38In England, you'd very rarely see that. Nice.
0:35:38 > 0:35:43- Typical for here. - It's heavy.- Yes.- Hard work.- Yes.
0:35:44 > 0:35:49Hard work, it's quite a hard land, so it goes together.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52This goes very well. This is a broken one.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55Like that.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59'Nicolas doesn't just grow strawberries.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02'He cultivates everything, from potatoes to aubergines,
0:36:02 > 0:36:06'via 15 different varieties of tomatoes, and it's all organic.'
0:36:06 > 0:36:10Do you grow all the vegetables or do you buy some in?
0:36:10 > 0:36:13We buy some in at the beginning of the season,
0:36:13 > 0:36:16because we grow most of ours, but at the beginning of the season
0:36:16 > 0:36:19we had to buy a few because we don't have any plastic tunnels.
0:36:19 > 0:36:24What about in winter, when you have very cold, harsh weather?
0:36:24 > 0:36:27Do you have enough vegetables for yourselves?
0:36:27 > 0:36:32Oh, yes, we have our potatoes, our poireaux, to make soup.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36Soup every day. Midday and in the evening.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39It makes me hungry to think about it.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42And then we eat a little more meat in winter
0:36:42 > 0:36:45to get a bit fatter, to pass the winter.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50'The way that Nicolas coaxes so much from this difficult soil
0:36:50 > 0:36:53'and climate is truly impressive.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57'It seems to me to be the embodiment of modern paysan self-sufficiency.
0:36:57 > 0:37:03'And then Agnes transforms it all into a pretty plateful.'
0:37:03 > 0:37:06Oh, that looks so beautiful.
0:37:07 > 0:37:12Let's have a small meal after this walk in the gardens.
0:37:12 > 0:37:13Let's!
0:37:14 > 0:37:18These are goat's cheese,
0:37:18 > 0:37:20rolled in menthe.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22- And those lovely flowers.- Voila.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36- Very good.- OK.- Good.
0:37:39 > 0:37:44'The trend here, as in the UK, is for merging smaller farms to
0:37:44 > 0:37:48'create larger ones, although more than a quarter of French farmers
0:37:48 > 0:37:50'still own less than 15 acres.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53'Most of Nicolas's neighbours grow just one thing,
0:37:53 > 0:37:56the speciality of the region.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59'I've come to the other side of the valley to meet his friend Bruno
0:37:59 > 0:38:01'to take a look.'
0:38:56 > 0:38:57Oui!
0:39:13 > 0:39:14Au revoir.
0:39:17 > 0:39:22'Bruno harvests his entire crop of onions by hand in August
0:39:22 > 0:39:25'and sells them via a small local co-operative.'
0:39:25 > 0:39:27Interesting what Bruno was saying,
0:39:27 > 0:39:32because he's the fifth generation of his family to grow onions here.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35- And also what I find amazing... - BELL RINGS
0:39:35 > 0:39:38- That's nice, to hear a bell. - BELL RINGS
0:39:48 > 0:39:50That's the 6.05 bell.
0:39:53 > 0:39:58What I find amazing is that not only are onions produced in this
0:39:58 > 0:40:01very specific region that are acknowledged to be
0:40:01 > 0:40:06the finest in France, but also, they have no rotation.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09There have been onions on these terraces continuously
0:40:09 > 0:40:11for over 100 years.
0:40:11 > 0:40:13And they still grow wonderfully well.
0:40:17 > 0:40:22'I love the idea of terroir. That specific combination of place,
0:40:22 > 0:40:26'soil and climate, which means that one location can produce onions
0:40:26 > 0:40:30'distinct from anywhere else and, of course, it's not just onions.'
0:40:31 > 0:40:33This is really interesting.
0:40:33 > 0:40:38Here you've got strawberries from Carpentras and from the Ardeche
0:40:38 > 0:40:40and then a different variety there.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44Now, the English gardener is really familiar with growing
0:40:44 > 0:40:48different varieties of strawberry and choosing which one they want.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51But the English shopper tends to just buy strawberries.
0:40:51 > 0:40:56And the real difference with France is that the housewives, the chefs,
0:40:56 > 0:41:00the consumer, will very deliberately select the variety, or the region
0:41:00 > 0:41:04the food comes from, with the same care that we grow it in England.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16- Deux euro?- Deux euro.
0:41:18 > 0:41:19- Merci beaucoup.- Merci.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24They're said to be exceptionally fragrant and they really are.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32You know how, with a strawberry, there's that moment of bliss
0:41:32 > 0:41:35when you realise it's not just as good as you thought it was
0:41:35 > 0:41:37going to be, but a lot better?
0:41:48 > 0:41:53'This love of provenance and terroir is still alive in modern France.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56'26% of farms have disappeared in the last ten years,
0:41:56 > 0:41:59'mostly smallholdings being absorbed by larger farms
0:41:59 > 0:42:03'and for these small farms, it can prove a lifeline.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07'The Dordogne, for example, used to be a major tobacco-growing area
0:42:07 > 0:42:10'but now farmers have had to adapt.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15'The Boyer family in Carsac-Aillac,
0:42:15 > 0:42:19'like many others, are using the land for a regional speciality.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24'I've come to see Thierry Boyer
0:42:24 > 0:42:26'in the old tobacco fields by the river.'
0:42:26 > 0:42:28- Bonjour.- Bonjour.
0:43:08 > 0:43:09HE LAUGHS
0:43:27 > 0:43:28Oui, c'est vrais.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35- A vous.- Merci.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38Go in underneath, on the side.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41Until I feel it.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43There it is. I missed.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49- Voila!- Good!
0:43:51 > 0:43:53I'm going to have another go now.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56'These white asparagus are more expensive than
0:43:56 > 0:43:57'our own green asparagus.'
0:43:58 > 0:44:01OK, in here.
0:44:01 > 0:44:04'The French love them and will pay accordingly.'
0:44:18 > 0:44:19Tres bon.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24Light, drains well, rich...
0:44:30 > 0:44:33'But what's also interesting about these asparagus
0:44:33 > 0:44:35'is that they are organic.
0:44:35 > 0:44:37' "Bio", as the French call it.
0:44:37 > 0:44:39'And the amount of bio production has more than
0:44:39 > 0:44:41'doubled in the last ten years.'
0:44:42 > 0:44:45That's probably a one-way road. Who cares?
0:44:46 > 0:44:50'There's one statistic that I find truly ambitious.
0:44:50 > 0:44:52'The French spend more time eating
0:44:52 > 0:44:55'and drinking than anyone else in the Western world.
0:44:56 > 0:45:01'So I want to see what happens when you marry the traditional values
0:45:01 > 0:45:04'of self-sufficiency and respect for local varieties
0:45:04 > 0:45:08'with modern organic production in a Michelin-starred restaurant.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12'There is, however, a minor hitch.
0:45:12 > 0:45:14'I've run out of cash to pay the ferry man.'
0:45:14 > 0:45:16Pardon!
0:45:22 > 0:45:24There is something about going by ferry,
0:45:24 > 0:45:27even if you're just going across a little waterway,
0:45:27 > 0:45:31a river. It's exciting. It's an unmodern thing to do.
0:45:31 > 0:45:32It's an adventure.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37I don't know what you expect to happen at the other end
0:45:37 > 0:45:38but it's different.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41Life is going to change somehow. And it's so short.
0:45:41 > 0:45:44I've got to get back in the car or I'll be left stranded here.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46That was fun. That was good.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53'Although I couldn't pay the fare,
0:45:53 > 0:45:57'I was allowed across the River Rhone on my way to the Camargue.
0:46:01 > 0:46:05'This is the dead-flat, marshy stretch of land that merges
0:46:05 > 0:46:07'into the Mediterranean,
0:46:07 > 0:46:10'famous for its wild rice and white horses,
0:46:10 > 0:46:13'and I've come here to visit a restaurant with
0:46:13 > 0:46:16'an unusually intimate relationship with its kitchen garden.'
0:46:18 > 0:46:21Now, this is the reason that I've come to the Camargue,
0:46:21 > 0:46:25because this restaurant, La Chassagnette, is bio,
0:46:25 > 0:46:28meaning it's organic. It grows all its own veg,
0:46:28 > 0:46:32and was one of the first organic restaurants to get a Michelin star.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39'As the guests eat, they look out onto a garden that not only provides
0:46:39 > 0:46:42'most of the ingredients for their meal, but is also lovely.'
0:46:43 > 0:46:46Nice to see the cosmos. This is cosmos "Dazzler".
0:46:47 > 0:46:50Actually, funnily enough, just before coming out here,
0:46:50 > 0:46:53I planted mine out back home, they're nothing like as big.
0:46:53 > 0:46:57But look at the way the new flower is that very rich reddy colour,
0:46:57 > 0:47:01almost plum, and it fades to a pink.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04It looks lovely just scattered through the vegetables.
0:47:14 > 0:47:17I'm looking for Claude, the gardener.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19Claude!
0:47:19 > 0:47:23- Bonjour.- Bonjour!- Ca va?- Ca va! Et tois?- Oui, tres bien.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29- Oui. - CLAUDE LAUGHS
0:47:29 > 0:47:31- Ca va bien?- Ca va.
0:47:31 > 0:47:33Voila! Des tomates.
0:47:41 > 0:47:43Wow!
0:47:43 > 0:47:45Tu vois, regarde des tomates.
0:48:08 > 0:48:15What that has, it has a tenderness to touch
0:48:15 > 0:48:19that you never get in an English tomato
0:48:19 > 0:48:21because they never get that ripe.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24English tomatoes tend to be much firmer.
0:48:25 > 0:48:29And although it may look less than perfect, I can tell you,
0:48:29 > 0:48:32I just want to bite into that and the taste is fantastic.
0:48:32 > 0:48:34This is enormous!
0:48:39 > 0:48:41That is a whopper.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45It's the size of a great big baking apple, or small melon.
0:48:47 > 0:48:51And of course, what you have is the warmth of the sun.
0:48:51 > 0:48:58A cold tomato has far less taste, and this smells of days of sunshine.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02La chair de la tomate.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04The flesh.
0:49:04 > 0:49:08The flesh here is really solid.
0:49:08 > 0:49:12There's no sort of wet pippy section.
0:49:12 > 0:49:13THEY LAUGH
0:49:13 > 0:49:17It's got body. This is a muscular tomato.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20This has been in the weights room,
0:49:20 > 0:49:24pumping iron, and the result, it's like a watermelon in scale.
0:49:28 > 0:49:32It's got a different texture. It's very, very nice. Lovely.
0:49:34 > 0:49:38'These tomatoes go from the vine to the kitchen in minutes.
0:49:38 > 0:49:39'No food could be fresher.'
0:49:41 > 0:49:46Hello, Armand? Bonjour. How are you?
0:49:46 > 0:49:48Very good.
0:49:48 > 0:49:50So, what are you cooking today?
0:49:50 > 0:49:53Today, we have fish with tomatoes.
0:49:54 > 0:50:00So we have these tomatoes in olive oil.
0:50:00 > 0:50:05- So that's just olive oil? - Olive oil and basil.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08- And the basil is from the garden? - Yes.
0:50:10 > 0:50:11- Go ahead.- Really? OK.
0:50:19 > 0:50:20Superb.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24Just put the fish in the olive oil, like this.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29This tomato will now be used as a seasoning.
0:50:29 > 0:50:33Does it matter which variety you use for this?
0:50:33 > 0:50:36Today it's "Noire de Crimee" we're using.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39Because we want not too acid... but concentrated,
0:50:39 > 0:50:42a lot of density in the tomatoes.
0:50:42 > 0:50:45- So you choose your variety for the dish?- Of course.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48I also prepared some onions.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51And that is, so far, all from the garden?
0:50:51 > 0:50:54Everything's from the garden.
0:50:54 > 0:50:59So, when you organise your menu, do you see what's in the garden?
0:50:59 > 0:51:00Exactly.
0:51:02 > 0:51:06We can say it's the garden who detects...
0:51:06 > 0:51:08what's going to be in the menu.
0:51:09 > 0:51:15The idea is to have a restaurant who helps the garden,
0:51:15 > 0:51:19- and not the garden for the restaurant.- That's unusual, isn't it?
0:51:19 > 0:51:23- Yes.- As a gardener, someone who grows food, that is wonderful,
0:51:23 > 0:51:26because when you're cooking at home, you're going into the garden,
0:51:26 > 0:51:30you see what's good. You gather it and you cook it.
0:51:30 > 0:51:34It's the garden that decides what's it's going to be for you.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38At home, did your parents grow vegetables?
0:51:38 > 0:51:43No, but my grandparents used to sell vegetables in the market.
0:51:43 > 0:51:47- So vegetables are always part of my life.- Very good.
0:51:47 > 0:51:49I'll let you get on, I know you're going to be very busy,
0:51:49 > 0:51:52- but thank you very much.- Thank you. - Fascinating.
0:51:55 > 0:51:59'This place is a perfect example of how the directness of
0:51:59 > 0:52:03'paysan culture can be maintained and celebrated
0:52:03 > 0:52:07'without compromising the highest culinary standards.
0:52:11 > 0:52:15'It's been a fascinating journey, from the self-sufficiency
0:52:15 > 0:52:19'of the nuns to the embellishment of Val Joanis
0:52:19 > 0:52:22'to the uncomplicated flavours of the Cevennes.'
0:52:23 > 0:52:25Lovely.
0:52:25 > 0:52:30'And I've seen how the French love of order and control turns
0:52:30 > 0:52:35'pruning into a fine art, vegetables into formal bedding.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38'And there's no doubt that the French passion for food
0:52:38 > 0:52:41'goes hand in hand with a pride in terrior,
0:52:41 > 0:52:45'and an appreciation that choosing the particular and specific
0:52:45 > 0:52:49'will always translate into the best you can eat.'
0:52:49 > 0:52:51C'est bon.
0:52:51 > 0:52:55'But it's time to pay a visit to the French kitchen garden that I think
0:52:55 > 0:52:59'combines all these qualities into one triumphant performance.
0:52:59 > 0:53:03'It is in Berry, which is in la France profonde,
0:53:03 > 0:53:05'right in the middle of the country.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11'I think this place succeeds in marrying the virtues of
0:53:11 > 0:53:15'a high level of productivity, theatrical and playful display
0:53:15 > 0:53:20'and the French delight in their food, all in one glorious garden.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29'The potager at the ancient monastery of
0:53:29 > 0:53:33'Priorie Notre-Dame d'Orsan is only 20 years old,
0:53:33 > 0:53:37'but it takes its inspiration from the site,
0:53:37 > 0:53:40'and the tenets of mediaeval monastic gardens
0:53:40 > 0:53:43'where everything should be both useful and beautiful.'
0:53:47 > 0:53:51This is a block of wheat growing in the lawn.
0:53:51 > 0:53:56You might think that that is quirky, fun, a little bit eccentric,
0:53:56 > 0:53:58but actually it's very, very practical.
0:53:58 > 0:54:01Like everything else in this garden, it's grown to eat.
0:54:01 > 0:54:04It'll be harvested, and the grains will be ground and made into bread.
0:54:04 > 0:54:09And there's no reason why you can't grow anything edible in a garden.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12There isn't an area that's suitable for farming
0:54:12 > 0:54:15and an area that's suitable for gardening.
0:54:15 > 0:54:16The two can come together.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19And I think that gives an energy to a garden.
0:54:19 > 0:54:21If you're really going to use it,
0:54:21 > 0:54:24you're really going to grow it as well as you can.
0:54:24 > 0:54:26But here, whether it's eaten or not,
0:54:26 > 0:54:30everything down to the protection around the crop,
0:54:30 > 0:54:35down to the little snails on top of the bamboo, must look good.
0:54:40 > 0:54:42'The owner, Patrice Taravella,
0:54:42 > 0:54:44'is an architect turned garden designer.
0:54:44 > 0:54:46'And he's asked me to lunch.'
0:54:47 > 0:54:51- Lovely, that looks very good. - I hope you like the vegetables.
0:54:51 > 0:54:53I love vegetables.
0:54:53 > 0:54:55All these from the garden?
0:54:55 > 0:54:57All is from the garden, yes.
0:54:58 > 0:55:02How did you begin the garden here?
0:55:02 > 0:55:05Perhaps, WHY did you begin the garden here?
0:55:05 > 0:55:10The first summer, it was so warm, so hot,
0:55:10 > 0:55:13that I felt we had to plant a tree because we need shade.
0:55:15 > 0:55:18It was...everywhere was rain, we had no roof,
0:55:18 > 0:55:20no shade everywhere, and we want shade.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25And one tree, two trees, three trees and then...
0:55:25 > 0:55:28SNAPS FINGERS If we make a garden. Just like that.
0:55:28 > 0:55:32- And you'd never made a garden before?- No, never. Never, never.
0:55:32 > 0:55:33My first garden.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35HE CHUCKLES
0:55:35 > 0:55:40So why did you want to make a garden that included food?
0:55:40 > 0:55:41Vegetables and fruit?
0:55:41 > 0:55:45Because for me, a flower, I like the flowers and the trees,
0:55:45 > 0:55:47because there is a fruit after.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50Not the flower to cut to put on the table.
0:55:50 > 0:55:53I can do, but it is not my interest.
0:56:01 > 0:56:05'Patrice now runs the converted monastery as a small hotel.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08'Everything that is grown in the garden is served to
0:56:08 > 0:56:11'the guests as it comes into season.'
0:56:13 > 0:56:16There isn't a garden that doesn't use support of some kind,
0:56:16 > 0:56:23but I've never seen a garden where the support system looks so good.
0:56:23 > 0:56:26Not particularly original, but the way that it's all put together,
0:56:26 > 0:56:29actually, is really inspiring and exciting.
0:56:29 > 0:56:32This is obviously for the tomatoes, and there are wigwams.
0:56:32 > 0:56:36There's a nice sort of tent-like structure, which I'm going to copy.
0:56:36 > 0:56:41A roller coaster lattice work there, all to support tomatoes.
0:56:41 > 0:56:44There's a playfulness about it that I like, because it's all
0:56:44 > 0:56:47practical, all standard stuff, but there's a little spark to it.
0:56:50 > 0:56:52'Although the garden is not particularly big,
0:56:52 > 0:56:57'it feels big because it's subdivided into dozens of compartments.
0:56:57 > 0:57:00'It's easy to get lost, with peepholes and views
0:57:00 > 0:57:03'and a maze of hedge-lined paths.
0:57:03 > 0:57:06'There's a reference to mediaeval symbolism in all this,
0:57:06 > 0:57:09'following the tortuous road to salvation,
0:57:09 > 0:57:12'but it is, above all, a brilliant manipulation of space.'
0:57:14 > 0:57:17The space is constricted, expanded,
0:57:17 > 0:57:20you're led down certain alleys that lead nowhere,
0:57:20 > 0:57:22there are dead ends, you have to retrace your steps.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25There are little windows, there are doors.
0:57:25 > 0:57:28All this makes it very lively and energetic.
0:57:28 > 0:57:31Very exciting, because you don't know what's round the corner.
0:57:34 > 0:57:38I think this garden weaves together its strands brilliantly.
0:57:38 > 0:57:44You've got the monastic element, where monks grow food with devotion.
0:57:44 > 0:57:48You've got serious food production, which is served to paying
0:57:48 > 0:57:52members of the public to a very high standard.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55And you've got a garden that purely sets out to look beautiful.
0:57:55 > 0:57:59And they all come together. I love the way nothing's wasted.
0:57:59 > 0:58:02Everything, be it a rose or a cabbage,
0:58:02 > 0:58:04is grown with great seriousness.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07But the tone, and the way the garden looks and feels,
0:58:07 > 0:58:10has a real playful element.
0:58:10 > 0:58:12It's elegant and it's useful.
0:58:12 > 0:58:16Now, surely, that's the definition of a potager.
0:58:19 > 0:58:23'Next time, I'll be looking at gardens of great French artists
0:58:23 > 0:58:27'and considering the question of whether a garden can be
0:58:27 > 0:58:29'a work of art in itself.'
0:58:29 > 0:58:31My goodness!
0:58:50 > 0:58:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd