On first visiting this lovely place, we discovered that the old school playground was actually a charming garden enclosed by the original high stone walls: old varieties of roses amidst an opulent vegetation, in which, somewhere, we came upon a pretty palm tree still sheltered by its blue plastic pot!  How could we lighten the garden to give it more space and light, to create a living space within it using shade, water, vegetation all under the hot Provençal sun?

The covered terrace, which we created, reminds us of what might have been a covered playground area in the old school days of this house:  beneath it, in the shade, a long stone bench invites us to rest awhile, making the most of the little bar to refresh ourselves.  Just next to it, stands a small stone bench and its little table.  The pool made from smoothed cement reminds us of the old “lavoirs” which are still found in some villages today.  We had to give height to the pool in order for it not to be crushed by the high surrounding walls:  I therefore created several levels of stone beds around it to shelter a variety of plants, and the circular pebble floor around one of the angles of the pool softens the long swimming corridor.  The result?  A swimming pool which does not appear to be one!  The fountain at its head brings a musical touch to the ensemble. 
The palm tree has kept its place and is growing more and more majestic each day.  The shade it provides helps the pretty touch of green grass.  An olive tree has grown in height in its bottomless large round pot, which was created and covered using different coloured pigments and dressed with a message of love and peace.