A temporary garden at the Cloister of la Psalette

This garden has been recreated on the initiative of the National Monuments Centre (CMN) by Patrick Bayard, head gardener of the Château d'Azay-le-Rideau, assisted by five young people from Joué-lès-Tours as part of a rehabilitation project backed by the La Rabière Association for socio-educational prevention (Apser). 

"Temporary garden - eternal symbol"

In medieval times, every cloister had a garden. Omnipresent in the Bible, from the Garden of Eden to the Gardens of Gethsemane where Jesus spent his last night in the company of his disciples, an element which is inseparable from religious life, the garden is the symbol of heaven on earth, the meeting place between God and man.  

In summer, the Cloister of la Psalette will once again be home to a garden made up of four paths surrounded by flower beds filled with wood chips forming a cross which symbolises the four rivers of the Garden of Eden; the Tigris, the Euphrates, the Pison and the Gihon.  

These paths demarcate triangular patches of grass. At the outer corners of these patches, there is yew topiary and on each long side there are boxwood bushes. These two varieties are very often found in cloister gardens; these two trees symbolise eternity, owing to their slow growth, their longevity and their constantly green foliage. 

Online

• Cloister of la Psalette
• Young people from Joué-les-Tours recreate the cathedral garden (La Nouvelle République, 17/05/2014)
• Tours: Reopening of the Cloister de la Psalette garden (La Nouvelle République, 16/05/2014)