The garden of Les Lilas is at the front of the tall house of Hennequeville from where Marcel Proust would telegraph Paris. The little garden spreads down until one has a view of an apple orchard and further, of the the English Channel.

The two friends, Yves Coueslant and Desmond Knox-Leet, put their heart into this garden planting flowers, bushes and trees from all over the world to have blossoming in all seasons. It was a private paradise yet quite simple. The abundance of various plant species bloomed in harmony with antique statues, ponds and a little wooden house. Below a little pond, living side by side are moorhens and Assouan, a little beaver – but beware of the fox!