Is it possible to visit there without a tour group?

no one?

I'd never heard of it, so I had to Google it. Oh my! I would LOVE to see this!

Looks like we Googled at the same time, Chris. I will be renting a little house in Bonnieux in October and was really hoping to see this garden. Looks like it's an impossibility - only open to groups of 10 or more with an appointment and closed June, July and August.

It looks lovely.

You might contact them anyways. You never know and you might be able to get a tour.

Edited to add: You might try the Tourism Office in Bonniux. They may organize a group.

I had already decided to do that. The woman who made this garden, Nicole de Vesian was a very special lady. She was married to a nobleman until his death. They lived in Paris and she designed for Hermés. After his death she bought the house in Bonnieux and made what was to become, the defintive Provençal garden.It has been featured in many of my house porn books. A room is on the cover of "Provence Interiors."

sorry for my typos my fingers are very arthritic and the e is often missed.
Before her death, she sold it to an American lady, Pillsbury.

You never know, they may have a group of 9 just waiting for a 10th. Definitely worth a try, because it looks extraordinary!

I have had the privilege of visiting the garden.

Since it is privately owned, it is not open to regular visits. But if you are a small group interested in garden art, you can try to approach the Bonnieux tourism office.

The garden is much more Japanese than Provençal. Too bad the fountain-pools were not shown on the website.
Btw, the owner has a dear friend who owns the Clos Peyronnet in Menton.
http://www.menton.com/uk/gardens/peyronet.htm
Le Clos Peyronnet may just be the most sybaritic corner of the French Riviera.
The Clos Peyronnet is very different from La Louve. La Louve is all zen rigor. The Clos Peyronnet garden retains a very casual grace - nearly wild - that of course takes a lot of hard work to achieve.
As Coco Chanel said: "frivolity is a lot of work."

http://www.provenceguide.com/ListeFestivites.asp?bassin...LAD&commune=Bonnieux
you can visit it if you like;see the dates on the link above.click on La Louve for more details

I was interested to see this posting, as I just heard about this garden for the first time during our recent stay in Bonnieux. A group tour had been cancelled, and the Tourism Office had called to a few of the B&Bs to see if there might be anyone interested. Our group already had plans for that day.

It seems like the garden was open one day a month, perhaps with a charge of 10 euro. (There was a little poster about this in our B&B.) I could easily find out the dates, if anyone is interested. If other Slow Travelers are in Bonnieux this summer, it could be fun to go together if the timing works out. (We are back July 6 - August 11.) I was told that the garden-- now owned by an American woman named Mrs. Pillsbury-- is located at the end of the Rue Victor Hugo, just past the Hotel Cesar. It must be very well hidden from the street.

By the way, Mimi, I finally visited the shop you have talked about-- Nid d'Abeille. Beautiful things!

Kathy