Help us bring an old garden back to life in a historic house in Alsace, France

Details

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  Description

  (preferably couples)
  
  We are looking for a couple of energetic Workawayers to help us care for the large, rather wild garden surrounding our historic home in Mulhouse, Alsace.
  
  We live in a beautiful neo-Gothic manor house built in 1882, set in a very quiet and green part of Mulhouse. Although it feels almost like being in the countryside, the house is only a few minutes' walk from Mulhouse railway station, with excellent connections to Strasbourg, Basel, Colmar and the rest of Alsace.
  
  The house has a private garden of around 3,000 m² and a pool, with old trees, shrubs, lawns, paths and terraces. Over time, we have deliberately allowed parts of it to become quite natural – perhaps a little too natural! Grass is growing between paving stones and over some paths, shrubs have become rather enthusiastic, moss has taken over parts of the lawn, and several areas could use some attention.
  
  We would now love to bring back some of the garden's original structure without turning it into a formal or manicured garden.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Light gardening
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  Interests

  

  Farming

  

  History

  

  Gardening

  

  Hiking

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Nature
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  You can communicate with us in four different languages, learn about Greek and Roman history from Sabine or learn how to write a scenario for a novel from Stéphane, experience authentic French life-style, learn how 19th-century industrials used to live.

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  Help

  The work will mainly involve:
  clearing grass and weeds from old paths and paving
  cleaning and uncovering terraces and path edges
  weeding
  cutting back and shaping overgrown shrubs
  clearing leaves, branches and dead vegetation
  mowing and tidying lawn areas
  removing unwanted growth and small self-seeded plants
  generally helping us make the garden feel cared for again while keeping its natural character
  
  There is plenty to do, so we are particularly interested in people who genuinely enjoy physical outdoor work. Previous gardening experience is very welcome, although not essential if you are practical and happy to get your hands dirty.
  We will not ask Workawayers to undertake dangerous tree work, work at significant height or use a chainsaw. Our old and protected trees are left to professionals.

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  Languages spoken

  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  French: Fluent
  Italian: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  You will stay with us in the manor, a large historic family home with plenty of space. The house retains many of its original features, including oak floors and staircase, high ceilings and old fireplaces. We'll provide you with an independent spacious bright bedroom with a queen-sized bed and independent bathroom.

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  What else ...

  We live in beautiful Alsace in Mulhouse. In the 19th century Mulhouse was one of France’s most prosperous industrial towns, nicknamed the “One Hundred Chimneys City” or “French Manchester” (le Manchester français). Mulhouse is an excellent base for discovering Alsace, the southern Vosges, Switzerland and the Black Forest. Colmar and Basel are easy to reach by train, Strasbourg is about an hour away, and there are numerous villages, vineyards and hiking areas nearby.
  
  Despite the central location, our neighbourhood is exceptionally peaceful and green.
  
  We are a busy family and are looking for independent, reliable and considerate people who are comfortable living in a family home and working as part of a small team. Couples, friends travelling together and small groups are particularly welcome.
  If you enjoy old houses, gardens, practical projects and spending a couple of weeks outdoors in Alsace, we would be very happy to hear from you. Please tell us a little about yourselves, any gardening or practical experience you have, and the dates when you would be available.
  
  Today, Mulhouse is a thriving city strategically situated at the crossroads of two axes: Rhin-Rhône and Paris-Zurich. The proximity with Basle in Switzerland (27 km) and Freiburg-im-Breisgau in Germany (60 km) has been used as a major impetus to consolidate the cross-border co-operation of which the Basel/Mulhouse EuroAirport is the best example.
  
  In Mulhouse you find today the world’s biggest car collection open to the public, hosted in the Cité de l'Automobile, Musée national de l'automobile, Collection Schlumpf. Other notable museums are Cité du Train the largest railway museum in Europe (for trains), the Musée de l'impression sur étoffes – a museum of printed textiles that bears witness to the textile heritage, the Ecomusée d'Alsace – lively open-air museum of over 70 traditional houses and seasonal programming.
  
  Also the Parc zoologique et botanique of Mulhouse is a botanical garden and zoo specialized in preserving endangered animal species and celebrating its 150 anniversary in 2018. The Temple Saint-Etienne – the only protestant church on a main square in France, is the tallest protestant building in France.
  
  Culinary specialties in Mulhouse are sauerkraut – emblematic meal of pickled cabbage, sausages, smoked bacon and potatoes, best eaten in a winstub, fleischschnakas – a salted log cake (pastry and meat) shaped like a snail (“schnaka” in the local language), bredala – without these biscuits Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas in Alsace, Alsace wines – the famous Alsace Wine Route is 25km from Mulhouse and leads through medieval villages where wines are tasted directly at the growers, schnapps – Alsatian brandy made with local wine, flowers, herbs and fruits such as the plum-like damson
  beer – lots of local craft beers mades by micro-breweries.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  My animals / pets

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