In 1980, charmed by the peaceful beauty of the Lanaudière foothills landscapes, Yves Gagnon and Diane Mackay decided to settle on the banks of the Maskinongé River on land where an old barn stood, which they transformed over time into an original and picturesque home, wonderfully integrated into the surrounding environment.

On the two-acre plateau that surrounds it, with passion and perseverance, they have designed and landscaped ecological gardens of great beauty, sometimes English in style, sometimes oriental in style. Today, they feature majestic trees, a marriage of fruits, vegetables, aromatic and medicinal plants, bodies of water teeming with life, and suites of gardens imbued with biodiversity and balance that create dramatic perspectives and eloquent tableaux.

Once the visitor has taken the winding path that leads to the heart of the work, he or she becomes part of this powerful and harmonious microcosm. When he or she immerses himself in it and blends into it, time seems to stand still. A letting go is then imprinted that revives certain perceptions, stifled as they are by the matter and agitation inherent in the contemporary way of life. More present in time and space, he or she stops at the Zen garden, sits on the old wooden bench, closes his or her eyes and settles down for a while.

- Yves Gagnon