Photography by Mimi Giboin for Gardenista.
One day while Paul Mottorshead and Olivier Guérin were visiting Guérin’s parents in Chérac, Bordeaux, they happened to drive past a small building on a narrow side street in the historic center of Cognac.
The couple decided to quit their jobs in London and move to France to open a garden shop in the 16th-century townhouse in Cognac, and to name it Ambre Concept Store.
From the street, there’s no evidence of the shop’s hidden courtyard garden.
Inside the shop, home wares and house plants sit side by side.
Cognac-based architect Eric Daigre renovated the shop.
The inventory is eclectic, from flowers to furniture and includes both vintage and new items.
Behind the shop is the garden courtyard, where the couple sells garden products and plants.
At the back of the garden, a Mottorshead and Guérin built a fence from birch tree trunks cut in half and attached to a simple rectangular wooden frame.
A square zinc fountain is edged in box and adorned with evergreen ivy.
In the terra cotta pot is an espaliered apple tree called Reine de Reinettes, an old French variety.
Reine de Reinettes originates from France in the 18th century and has been popular in England since the Victorian age.
Pots (from L) of ivy, hydrangea, and rosemary create a romantic tableau.
The fence’s wooden frame is covered with a black weather resistant fabric to hide an original breeze block wall at the back of the garden.
The peeling back adds texture and color.
From French furniture manufacturer Matiere Grise, a galvanized steel Up Chair and Zonda Standing Table are weather resistant and are available in more than two dozen colors.
A potted fern is among the plants for sale in the courtyard.
Chinese star jasmine grows on a metal trellis against a stone wall.