Momiji-En (Le Jardin des Érables)

What if you visited Japan only a few kilometres away from Rouen? Jean-Marc and Béatrice Lucas will welcome you to their Momiji-En garden, which means Maple Garden in Japanese. In the heart of this Japanese-like 1,000 sq m (0.2-acre) garden, Jean-Marc Lucas, who is a bonsai-ka, a bonsai artist, grows not only maples with varied colours but also various species of bonsai trees. During the guided tours, he is pleased to share his knowledge about this age-old art. Fascinating!

I was warmly welcomed by the owner of the place, Jean-Marc Lucas, who introduced me to his garden. Here, the flowers are part of the landscape all year round. He had the idea of creating a Japanese garden after a trip to Japan. What a good idea! Here I saw all sorts of maples trees, and I was astonished to see so many different ones! The leaves have many different colours, yellow, orange, etc. Jean-Marc told me that the colour of the leaves changes throughout the year. He advised me to come back in autumn, when all the maples will be bright red.

The Maple Garden is also a bonsai garden! I have always loved this art, which is both relaxing and philosophical. My guide told me about the construction of his garden, divided in fact into three different parts. The first part of the garden contains the “presentation” bonsai, in other words bonsai trees that area ready to be displayed. I looked closer at the boards where are displayed the popular bonsai trees. There are all kinds and shapes. I also learnt about the methods for pruning these small trees. The art of bonsai has a lot of rules and principles that all bonsai grower must obey. The atmosphere of this garden is so peaceful and relaxing that I could spend the whole afternoon there! My guide told me all about his works of art and I was impressed by all this work. The second part of the garden presents the bonsai that are being "propagated” as Jean-Marc says. “Bonsai are like children, you have to raise them!” he told me. I was thus looking at trees that were developing, that were not shaped yet. In this part, I also saw what are called companion plants. They are small plants planted in the bowl with the bonsai tree in order to accentuate the bonsai on display.

The third part consists in the nursery! There are in fact bonsai trees that are growing. Jean-Marc lets them to grow at their own pace and selects the ones that would make good bonsai trees! What I enjoyed the most during this tour, is that each tree has its own history. I was curious: "Do you have a favourite bonsai tree?" I asked him. He showed it to me, and I quickly understood why. Splendid, it is not bigger than the others, nor bushier or more impressive. However, I could feel the age and a certain form of wisdom that emanates from this bonsai. “It is 80 years old" Jean-Marc told me. I was under the spell. Before I left the place, I stopped by the garden centre to adopt my first bonsai tree!