planting a forest!

one day, the vision of a forest struck me as self-evident: we needed greenery—lots and lots of it—an abundance of plants; we needed to recreate a teeming biodiversity
it was early 2022, and I had just moved to the Gard

mission accomplished

he prodigious growth spurt, the profusion, the adaptability of the plants are evident everywhere
in a biotope with dense and haphazard planting, species seek each other out, repel one another, exclude one another, and move about
so many successive adaptations between the layers of vegetation, made all the more evident by the growth of the plants
the forest has become an ever-shifting ocean of greenery, its structure constantly transforming
a vegetal illustration of the vitality and resilience of life

for an interim status, see the forest the meridian dedicated to the project in April 2024

experiencing the forest

the project was born of a leap of faith in the power of the plant world; this commitment has rooted me in a local area and transformed its atmosphere

but planting trees, shrubs, climbers, wild plants—whether edible, medicinal or ornamental—in the forest, sowing seeds, taking cuttings, sharing plants – is also to become part of the living fabric, multiplying encounters and intersections within the local biotope, between endemic and cosmopolitan species, with surprises, failures, hazards and miracles

the forest is now self-sufficient
on a subtle level, the forces at play tend to harmonise and a new space emerges, open, vacant,
another potential is brought to light

apart from maintenance pruning and tending to the individual trees that make it up, my presence will increasingly boil down to observing what is happening, following how things evolve, reading (and perhaps deciphering?!) how the environment organises itself as it becomes more complex
without intervening too much … letting things be
in a few areas, there will be vegetable gardens, far fewer than I had envisaged

Being out in nature. Feeling that problems, worries and urgent matters seem less pressing. I feel at peace; the world is vast, and I am part of the life that surrounds me.
Alexandre Hollan, The Invisible in the Tree

nourishing oneself on beauty

being in the sylve is a renewed homage to the beauty of forms and colours, to their composition; a delight in scents, flavours, textures and sounds…
it is, of course, a place to reconnect with one’s inner self through what touches our senses; a meeting point where sky and earth unite through greenery
the forest, manifested in physical form, is now revealed to be the invisible foundation for another creation yet to come!