When in 1966 I returned to the house and garden of my early childhood, now known as La Bonne Maison, the two and half acres essentially comprised a big orchard, a sizeable kitchen garden to the east, a gravelled courtyard to the north, a lawn-field with some large ornamental and fruit trees to the south, all tightly enclosed within the surrounding walls. The south east aspect, from a hill overlooking the Saône and Rhône rivers, was ideal, the old wine-growing grounds were hard to toil, but the clay and limestone pebbly soil was suitable for roses.

Over the next ten years, most of my efforts went towards the building of low walls and steps, creating lawns to link the different levels and limit the erosion. In 1975, a trip to Scotland opened my eyes to another garden conception: the softness of pastel shades, greys, whites, and above all, the roses bearing old French names.

Orchard pergola

This marked the beginning of hedges, planted to cut the north and south winds which rage through the Rhône Valley with withering effect.

Slowly, in spite of difficulties and setbacks the first Old Roses came from …England, from an old nursery in Angers, (gone today). Arches, ordered from a local crafts man in wrought iron, were set up one after the other, the big porticos were settled at the entrance of different gardens.

More than 800 varieties of labelled and listed roses flourish, from early April for the first species until the frosts.

Research into the archives and library of the Tête d’Or botanical garden in Lyon, correspondence with the curators of private gardens and botanists in England, Germany, USA, Bermuda, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India and Japan, exchanges of cuttings, bud woods, and slides all combined to elevate the level of La Bonne Maison garden’s interest for amateurs and professionals.

In July 2006 the garden celebrated its 40th anniversary and received 2 stars in the Guide Vert Michelin Lyon Drôme Ardèche, for its Roses’ Collection.