Established in Mortagne-au-Perche in Normandy since 1901 thanks to its manufacturing workshop, Carrière Frères had a deep desire to strengthen its commitment to the region. This is now a reality, and in a very ecological way. In collaboration with the Normandy Heritage Foundation and the Mortagne-au-Perche Town Hall, Carrière Frères has invested in the creation of a garden for the town. This garden is one of a kind, as it houses a seed garden at its heart. The plants are left in the ground for their entire life cycle, without being pruned or picked, until they produce seeds.

Located behind a historic building whose foundations date back to the Middle Ages, the current Crypt Garden already fulfills an essential seed preservation function. Vegetables, flowers and aromatic plants grow there under the shelter of a stone wall, without being harvested or cut, but under the careful supervision of the Mortagne en Transition association, which takes care of the seedlings and growth. and seed distribution.

When the time is right, the seeds are harvested, bagged, then placed in a grain library. The inhabitants of Mortagne can then use them freely in their vegetable gardens, or even enrich them with their own harvests, thus creating a small garden conducive to exchange, sharing and the preservation of biodiversity.

Conceived as a global initiative focused on plants, the garden initiated by Carrière Frères and designed by Antoine Ménard, a landscaper from Mortagnais, will enlarge the current seed garden, offering the association a working surface of approximately 100 m². The other part of the land, approximately 300 m², will be landscaped in a picturesque way to offer a welcoming and varied environment. Different varieties of plants, whether endemic, rare or robust, will be sown and planted there, thus contributing in a sustainable manner to the enhancement and preservation of local floral heritage and biodiversity.