A vision rooted in the living
The name Vert Val is a contraction of two simple and powerful words: green and valley. A word that immediately evokes the freshness of a woodland, the gentle curve of fertile land, the idea of a refuge for life.
But Vert Val is not just a name: it is a concrete vision. It is about gradually transforming spaces that are poor in biodiversity — concrete yards, empty gardens, barren slopes — into micro "valleys" that are lush, vibrant, and elegant, where nature regains its place alongside humanity.
This ambition is part of a larger movement, which pioneers around the world have illustrated with a transformative force.
Real examples that inspire VERT VAL
1. The Carrifran Wildwood Project (Scotland)
👉 From barren pastures to a vibrant forest valley
In the early 2000s, a group of enthusiasts purchased a degraded Scottish valley to replant over 750,000 local trees. Today, Carrifran has become a dynamic forest ecosystem once again, with the return of birds, wildflowers, and water.
2. The project of Genevieve and Ian Giddy (Costa Rica)
👉 To revive the cloud forest
In an area partially destroyed by deforestation in Costa Rica, this couple purchased a plot of land to replant an indigenous forest. With patience, they have seen the return of rare bird species, beneficial ambient humidity, and flourishing biodiversity.
3. The Instituto Terra project by Sebastião and Lélia Salgado (Brazil)
👉 2 million trees to restore a devastated valley
This famous photographer and his wife spent over 20 years restoring a Brazilian rainforest on his family's severely damaged land. The result: the return of more than 172 species of birds, 33 of mammals, 15 of amphibians, and a spectacular regeneration of the water cycle.
🌿 GREEN VALLEY: creating living micro-valleys in every garden
These projects have been carried out over dozens of hectares, sometimes for 20 or 30 years. At VERT VAL, we believe that every garden can become a miniature version of these restored valleys.
What are we doing concretely?
✔ Reintroduce the living
We select plants suited to the soil, climate, and sunlight, and encourage trees, grasses, perennials, and ground covers that nourish pollinators, retain water, and enrich the soil.
✔ Work on the shape of the terrain
We shape the garden with levels, gentle slopes, and drainage swales, which mimic the functioning of a natural valley. The garden becomes more resilient to drought, more welcoming to life.
✔ Enhance contemporary aesthetics
The ecological mission does not oppose elegance. VERT VAL designs modern, refined, understated gardens, using noble materials: natural stone, wood, corten steel. We believe that a garden can be both biodiverse and beautiful, structured and alive.
✔ Provide easy-to-maintain gardens
A sustainable garden is also a livable garden: designed to require less water, less effort, and more enjoyment. Less mowing, more hardy perennials. Fewer constraints, more seasons to observe.
The cumulative impact: garden after garden, valley after valley
By creating 2 to 3 gardens per month, we are building, year after year, an invisible network of fertile micro-landscapes. Hedges that protect, ponds that filter, gardens that become refuges for life.
"After a lifetime, there will be hundreds of hectares of recreated nature, where there was once nothing. This is what VERT VAL means."
In conclusion
Pioneers like the Salgados, the Giddys, or the ecologists of Carrifran show us that it is possible to repair the living world with patience, beauty, and vision. At VERT VAL, we want to embed each garden project within this same dynamic, bringing comfort, elegance, and life to those who inhabit it.