TyVert annual 2025
- Dennis Moet | visual storytelling
- Nov 4
- 8 min read
Updated: Nov 7
The year 2025 was in many ways a year of extremes, on a global scale, in our circle of friends and in our own lives. Happiness and sadness dance together. Spring began with the deceasing of Joop Moet, our father / father-in-law. He was still clear-minded, but his body was worn out. Joop's gentle, cheerful character, eloquence and kindness are sorely missed.
In May, we took the ferry to Somerset in England to enjoy the beauty and consolation offered by nature, gardens and art. What immediately caught our eye was that the pastoral landscape was radiantly white with the abundant blooms of blackthorn, wild garlic, snowdrops and wood anemones. In the heart of Brittany around TyVert however, everything turns bright yellow in spring due to flowering mimosa, lesser celandine, coltsfoot and (wild) daffodils. A fascinating difference.
Although we weren't really in the mood, the gardens and art in Somerset offered much beauty and inspiration. The exhibition by British artist Barbara Walker at the Arnolfini art centre in Bristol was very impressive and urgent. For an impression look here.
In Wells, at the gate of the former bishop's palace, we got talking to a brave lady who protests there every day against the genocide in Gaza. It is with great respect and pain in our hearts that we pass on her message. The accompanying photo, taken in the beautiful Iford Manor Gardens, expresses the sad mood.
Then the weather in 2025. What a difference compared to last year. 2025 started again very wet at our place, with a succesion of floods in our forest, the low-lying wild part of the TyVert garden. Spring and summer, on the other hand, were extremely dry. We were forced to water the vegetable garden, ornamental garden and many fruit trees regularly to prevent everything from wilting. The supply of rainwater collected in a water bag under our terrace (3000 litres) was insufficient. Fortunately, we also have access to water from a spring shared with the other residents of our hamlet. However, the water pressure from this source also noticeably decreased during the season. As gardeners, we have no choice but to adapt to the consequences of climate change. With a few tropical peaks, the temperature this year was generally very pleasant for working in the garden and enjoying the peaceful silence, the constantly changing play of light, the beautiful flowers and, ultimately, the very rich harvests. Beneficial for body and soul.
TASTE BUDS
Given the weather conditions, you might think that any harvest from the vegetable garden would be unthinkable. Nothing could be further from the truth. The wet spring helped the seeds to germinate and kept the soil in the raised beds moist. The organic seed potatoes, 'French Rattes', had already been planted the beginning of March and, helped by first a lot of rain and then sunshine, yielded a huge harvest at the end of June. What we could eat for four months. The same goes for the beautifully coloured Swiss chard, a plant that continues to grow and can be harvested repeatedly, and which our dogs Miep and Sjaan also love to eat. By placing different types of plants next to each other so that they support each other -companion planting- we also ended up with 21 kilos of broad beans: these were planted row upon row with the potatoes in one of the raised beds. Companion planting works so well that this year we only needed to cover the bed with different types of cabbage and leeks with fleece for a few weeks to protect them from voracious insects. And we got good harvests of corn and green beans, beetroot and garlic, tomatoes and basil as well: all 'good neighbours'.
It was not only a good harvest year for us, neighbours and friends also had a lot to share: crates full of apples, quinces, peaches, walnuts, stewing pears, etc. were delivered to us and, once processed by us into jam, syrup, jelly, apple sauce, cake, relish, chutney, membrillo, and compote, were shared with the generous givers as a thank-you. A wonderful barter system of companion gardeners for all to enjoy !
This year, two years after planting the tree, we were able to harvest our first quinces. The large fruits with a felt-like skin are very fragrant. You cannot eat them straight from the tree because they are rock hard. However, you can make delicious jam, compote or jelly from them. We made quince jelly and are sharing the recipe with you. Because peeling and cutting out the cores is hard work, chop them into large pieces with a hatchet on a chopping board. Put them in a large pan with a little water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for an hour. Then pour everything into a colander with a pan underneath to collect the thick juice. Press the quince pulp a little and let it drain. Put the pulp back into the empty pan, add water again and repeat the process. The collected juice is the basis for the jelly. We ourselves do not mind if the jelly isn't completely clear, but if you want it to be, filter all the juice through a cheesecloth overnight. The colour will be a beautiful pink anyway. Measure the amount of juice, pour it into a clean pan and add the correct amount of regular sugar or jam sugar (two-thirds juice, one-third sugar) and boil for 10 minutes on high heat so that the sugar makes it syrupy. Fill clean jars with the jelly and leave to cool thoroughly. It's so delicious!
ART VIEW : l’art dans les chapelles
We have had many guests staying at TyVert this year. It's busy but also fun for us, of course. Especially when the guests lend a hand and we go out together to view art, as we did this summer with Margot and Marinus from Amsterdam. With their help, we built a branch fence in the garden and visited the art route l'art dans les chapelles in the territory of the Pays de Pontivy and the Blavet valley. The combination of modern conceptual art in centuries-old chapels, which are otherwise not open to the public, makes this annual event special. The art enters into a dialogue with the 'sense of place'. Whether the works on display appeal to you is not really important; it's about the overall experience.
Our first visit to l'art dans les chapelles in 2021 has inspired us to the co-creation 'Hymne; levenstekens' (Hymn; signs of life). A (visual) exploration of the cross-pollination between faith, culture, nature and art in words and images. The small-edition, self-published Dutch publication has been received with great enthusiasm and many favourable reviews. The book is a wonderful gift for the coming festive season, for persons who can read Dutch. The remaining stock is very limited, so be quick. You can order your numbered copy of 'Hymne; levenstekens' using this form. Are you (still) looking for another unique gift, be sure to take a look at Erika's paintings and bronze sculptures.
EYEBRIGHT
We experience a garden with all our senses, but sight predominates. American photographer Edward Weston's statement, “The camera sees more than the eye, so why not use it?”, has been widely echoed. Since the introduction of photography, gardens and flowers have been depicted in many different ways, as can be seen in the beautiful publication 'The Photographer in the Garden' (Aperture, 2018). Throughout the seasons, I, Dennis, focus on the dynamic interplay of light, colour, form, structure and texture in the garden, and on magnifying the visual poetry of flowers in growth, bloom and decay. With a sensitive eye, I try to capture the fleeting moments of pure beauty. Balm for the eyes. The rich harvest of garden photagraphy in 2025 can be seen here. For more close-up flower images see as well Floral. If you are interested in buying a fine art print, please take a look here.
As Monet says, “Flowers, always flowers, that is what I need most”, they soften our gaze and our mood. One of our favourite perennial garden plants is the Daylily. The Dutch garden wizard Piet Oudolf characterises it as a plant for lazy gardeners. Daylilies are a good performer, requires little maintenance, bloom and lives a long time. In the 18th century, Linnaeus gave this plant the name Hemerocallis, derived from the Ancient Greek hēméra and kalós, meaning 'day-beautiful'. A single Daylily flower often blooms for only one day, opening at sunrise, having its moment of glory during that day and is then wilting. Fortunately, during the summer the plant produces many graceful flowers on stems up to 150 cm long, which grow from a clump with elegantly curved grass-like leaves. For most Daylilies applies, the more sun they get, the more profusely they bloom. The plants originate from East Asia and Central Europe. They have been cultivated as ornamental plants for thousands of years. There are thousands of varieties, many 'on steroids'. The TyVert garden is adorned with Hémérocallis altissima, H. citrina and H. fulva, which have a natural look. The simple flowers are lemon yellow and deep orange with a yellow centre. After months of 'flower power', some beautiful seed pods remain. It is no coincidence that Daylilies has become a garden classic and a sought-after 'model' for famous gardening artists such as Claude Monet (FR), Emile Node (DK) and Cedric Morris (UK).
ART VIEW : herman de vries
A Breton hotspot for landscape, nature and art is Galerie Dourvan, located on a 16 hectare private estate, a headland with a unique collection of pine trees from all over the world, and panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean. Due to restoration work following the devastation caused by Storm Ciarán (2-11-2023), the estate was closed in 2024. On 22 March this year, it reopened with the exhibition 'La nature elle-même' by the Dutch artist herman de vries (1931). He deliberately always writes his name in lowercase letters. Although it was a somewhat disappointing exhibition, we would like to pay tribute to him as a catalyst for the renewed attention to nature in the visual arts. herman de vries considers nature to be “the mother who encompasses everything”, the ultimate work of art, and focuses on collecting, organising and displaying all kinds of natural material as tranquil eco-art. His work is a plea to slow down, to marvel and to look with different eyes, with more attention, “at the ordinary things around us that are interesting” and to listen to what nature tells us and teaches us. His ideas and work are still a source of inspiration and increase awareness of “all is one”.
BREEDING PLACE : painting course
In addition to practising painting myselve, I, Erika, also enjoy teaching others. Last September, I started a 12-week painting course for beginners with a group of four participants. Dennis and I developed the teaching material, handouts on working with different painting materials, color, composition and perspective. I supervise the group one morning a week. As the photo shows, at the start of the course the students were able to paint in the garden, but now we work indoors in my studio by a purring wood-burning stove. You can follow their progress here. A course for advanced students will start spring 2026, also with French and/or English-speaking participants from the area.
If you live in the Netherlands, Belgium or England and would like to spend a week (learning to) paint in a beautiful location in Brittany, please let me know via contact@erikameershoek.fr and you will receive all the information about the customised options.
Personal comments, questions and requests you can let us know here.
We look forward to seeing you again in the next TyVert annual report.
Take good care of each other, stay save and sane.
Bonne Chance Erika & Dennis
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