Our story
Florists in the Netherlands, gardeners in Brittany: the story of Hanneke and Erwin.
From cut flowers to living gardens
“We fell in love with this region, so much so that we gave up our florist trade in the Netherlands,” Hanneke and Erwin Straalman told L'Écho de l'Armor et de l'Argoat. After twenty-five years running their own flower shop, they chose the Trieux valley.
In 2010 they bought an old farm at the hamlet of Kerfouler, on the road to Saint‑Clet. A hectare of land, granite buildings and one plan: to open a holiday cottage and create a garden of inspiration.
Four years of work later, in June 2014, the gardens opened to the public. Seventeen garden rooms at first, twenty since 2022, linked by a signposted route that everyone follows at their own pace.
Press photos: L'Écho de l'Armor et de l'Argoat (2014), Ouest-France & Le Télégramme (2014).
“We wanted to create several gardens where everyone can find something they love, children as much as adults.”Hanneke and Erwin Straalman, in Ouest-France (2014)
Purchase of the old farm and its hectare of land.
After four years of work, the first garden rooms welcome their visitors.
Le jardin de rencontre, Saveurs de soleil and Oasis de verdure bring the total to twenty.
20 garden rooms, a tea room, a cottage and the “Jardin remarquable” label.
The Jardin remarquable label
Les Jardins de Kerfouler hold the Jardin remarquable label, created in 2004 by the French Ministry of Culture. It distinguishes gardens open to the public for the quality of their composition, how they sit in their setting, the care of their upkeep and their botanical interest, whatever their age or style.
The label runs for five years and is then reassessed: it is not granted for good. For visitors, the plaque at the entrance is a simple marker: it points to a garden whose layout, upkeep and planting have been examined closely.
Writing the next chapter
After more than fifteen years growing Kerfouler, Hanneke and Erwin are looking for its next owner: someone who will love this place as much as they do. And they will be there to hand it over.