The Gardens

Our abbey is surrounded by gardens conducive to peace and recollection. The guesthouse terrace garden surrounds a small house clad in pink rough plaster. Guests also have access to the small slope – which we call the valley – separating the monastery from the path by the River Sarthe. The largest garden, however, is within the enclosure: the formal garden, with its bowling green lawns and yew trees clipped into cubes and cones, symbolizes the good order of conventual life. Further grounds, including a vast grassy area called La Poulie at the far end, are beyond this formal garden.