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De la terre à l’assiette : histoire du jardin potager de Miromesnil by Nathalie ROMATET – Château de Bénouville
From the soil to the plate: the story of a vegetable garden in Miromesnil
No château, no vegetable garden. Located alongside the château as from the 17th century, as illustrated by its walled enclosure, the vegetable garden has always played a nourishing role. As years went by, and owners changed hands, the garden went through many changes. Particularly after the Second World War, when Simone de Vogüé decided to get it “back into shape”. Flowers, fruit and vegetables were henceforth grown together. A new arrangement, new plants, but the same culture. Miromesnil… or how to please both the eye and the palate for over 100%.
Nathalie Romatet
Originally from Dieppe, my childhood was spent in two châteaux: weekdays at the château Musée de Dieppe, where my father Pierre Bazin was curator, and weekends at the Château de Miromesnil, owned by my grandparents, Bertrand and Simone de Vogüé. Training in communication, a detour via the Cours Florent drama school and accompanying teenagers were my daily occupations. But my family remained most important: Jean-Christophe, my husband and my three children, Margaux, Lorraine and Alexandre. Tunis, Paris, Reims, Rouen and Angers were our ports of call. Yet the call of the seagulls and the whims of fate brought us back to Miromesnil in April 2004. Passion… and / or recklessness… we needed to unearth all sorts of ideas to breathe life back in to this marvellous site.