As in 2022 and 2023, Huguette and Claude Destouches once again impressed the jury of the Société d'horticulture de Touraine (Shot) and the City of Loches, in 2024. After two first prizes in previous years, the retired couple lochois has been classified out of category in the gardens visible from the street. “We had to leave room for others”slides with humility Huguette Destouches.
This distinction rewards, once again, the work carried out together over the past four years, in their garden in the heights of Loches. “It really started during Covid. We were stuck here, so we decided to improve the exterior setting. I have always loved flowers, since I was little, but during my professional life, I didn't always have the time to take care of them. With retirement, I really got into it”she says. With her husband, Claude, they have a passion for maintaining their garden, trimming hedges, trees and planting. “My mother did it but it wasn’t my concern, I didn’t think I’d get into it too”smiled Huguette.
“We are not slaves to the garden”
It was in 2022 that they decided to register for the municipal competition, as a challenge, for fun. The jury passes during the month of July, the Destouches are not there but that does not prevent them from winning first prize. “It was a divine surprise, we didn’t know who was competing, what their gardens looked like”admits Claude Destouches.
Without putting pressure on themselves, they insist, their objective is above all to have fun and not to win the prizes. “We don’t live for flowers, it’s not an obsession. We are not slaves to the garden, we intervene according to the weather and our times. »
It is in summer that the Destouches garden reveals all its magic.
© (Photo Claude Destouches)
The philosophy of Huguette and Claude Destouches is a bit of control but above all letting nature do things. “We have structured massifs, others less so, it’s a bit heterogeneous. It gives a little wild and less rigid side. » But without necessarily seeking innovation at all costs, Huguette Destouches works on impulse. “When I go to the market, if I see something I like, I’ll buy it. I also sometimes look at what is being done elsewhere. It really comes down to feeling. »
Share tasks
The key is above all teamwork, in tandem, both for manual operations and thinking. A hobby that the couple has really taken a liking to, taking pleasure in the process and the means to achieve the result. “And when things go well, we’re happy. »
Every year, the garden grows, as does the orchard, always with the aim of improving the environment where they live. “We are far from being experts, but there are a lot of things we are learning. Anyone can do it, no special skills needed”underlines Huguette Destouches. They will certainly put their title back on the line in 2025, when the first bulbs are already planted for next spring. To continue to dazzle walkers.
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