Young or old, we are all looking for a four-leaf clover for an afternoon with our noses in the green. Derived from a fairly rare mutation of white clover, it is considered a lucky charm in the West. In the Nièvre, however, these small original plants grow by the hundreds: Patrick Guillouard is the only producer in the world to grow them, under license from INRAE (the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment).
“The clover brings us closer to our elderly and to the rural world”
This Friday the 13th will irreparably place you on the side of the superstitious or the Cartesians. Do you buy a lotto ticket, just in case? Are you looking for your own happiness?
In Nièvre, the commune of Châteauneuf-Val-De-Bargis is now known by another name: the village of the four-leaf clover. This fame is due to a man, Patrick Guillouard, for whom creating happiness is a daily activity: since 1998 he has been growing a four-leaf clover at home. According to him, the small plant makes it possible to perpetuate a tradition. It is the symbol of ancestral beliefs, he explains for: France 3a way of closer to our elderly and the rural world. †
Cultivate Scarcity
In any case, the four-leaf clover brought luck to Patrick Guillouard: this former publicist has world exclusivity for his cultivation and marketing. The small plant thus remains a rare commodity outside his studio. The location is being kept secret, according to France Bluebecause it does not fail to attract desire…
Today, the producer and his daughter Géraldine create all kinds of fancy accessories (jewellery, decorative items, key rings, etc.) which they market in their boutique Carré de Trèfles. Their manufacture is meticulous: the stems of clover must be perfect. They are then soaked in a bath intended to retain their color and then dried on tissue paper. Finally, they are cast in resin.
Although it markets some of its products abroad, it remains a family business: production is limited. Lucky items from the Square of Clubs are rare, like their likeness! This year, however, sales are difficult to get going, but Patrick Guillouard does not despair: “ clover has a good press. †
So, do we give them a chance?