Green Grows the City – Flowers & Foliage in Unexpected Places

I am always pleased to find signs of Nature in unexpected places, and during my recent stay in Paris discovered two such ones.  Firstly, a private garden with huge trees and lots of shrubs and flowers right downtown.  It was overcast, so the photos aren’t as nice as one would hope, but you get the idea.  In the middle of the garden is a wide long slope, and at the bottom of the slope is an indoor swimming pool.  It is hardly noticeable from the terrace where we had coffee and cake, and one has to go to the back of the garden and turn around to see it.  Someone was sunbathing there, so I desisted from taking a picture.  Also I didn’t have much time.

 

 

Later that day I meandered over to a church nearby called Magdalenae (la Madeleine in vernacular) which is very temple-like and impressive and glorious.  What interested me most, however, is the fact that the steps leading up to it are covered with plastic troughs chock full of flowers!  I possess some of those containers, which I used to extend my garden and planted full of flowers, to provide some nectar for the bees.  Alas my garden is too dark, and the flowers all died, so the bees have to look elsewhere for support.  But the Madeleine is in full sunshine, and the flowers looked splendid!

I powdered my nose in yet another luxurious bathroom, one which has mirrors on all sides, and couldn’t resist taking another picture of myself.  It almost looks like I finally succeeded in my long-held ambition of having myself cloned 50 times so I can take over the world!

Just a little Gardening Up-date ....

The taddies are doing ducky (so to speak) and I expect them to develop legs soon.

One of their ancestors came by and sat quite close to my deckchair, so I snapped her/him.

The neighbour's cat has killed my favourate fern by frequently sitting on it while observing the pond and keeping an eue on the birdbath.

Finally a sort of summer has arrived!

Surviving Against All Odds

Courageous pioneer or foolhardy adventurer?

I admire things and creatures that manage to survive despite the odds being stacked against them!  Today I spent a happy lunch-break wandering around town eating ice-cream and taking photos of things that managed to survive where they shouldn’t have.

Long distance shot of the dandelion

Like the solitary dandelion in the lawn of the college quad!  Mown almost every day and tended by a man full-time devoted to keeping the grass free of weeds and mosses and in tip top form, and yet invaded by a single dandelion seed, undaunted by his chemicals and lawn-cutting implements.  You will notice that the dandelion is growing very low to the ground, its prouder cousins having been decapitated long ago.  I am sure there is a moral here somewhere!

 

I also like the numerous little grasses and flowers that grow in the most unpromising cracks and crevices, like in the dirt of a street or a tiny hole in a wall, or even on top of a metal manhole cover.

And there are of course The Dinosaurs!  They have been there since time immemorial, well since 1974/84.  For some unknown reason The Authorities never removed them.  The White Dinosaur was there first, and next to it is written, ‘Remember what happened to the dinosaurs!’  Ten years later, mysteriously, just a few feet to the right of the White Dinosaur, another, blue one, appeared, with the inscription, ‘I did, and look what happened to me!’  So now there are two dinosaurs graffitically straddling the outer wall of the college, and no one has tried to remove either of them.  Pretty amazing really, if you think about it.

I would have taken more photos, but cars were in the way; maybe some other time

Taking Archibald to a Garden Party

This afternoon I went to a Garden Party!  The weather was perfect for it, dry and sunny with a light breeze, enough to keep everyone cool but not enough to blow away the ladies’ hats. Well, truth be told, there were only five hats at the party, and three belonged to gentlemen …

Anyway, this morning I jumped out of bed in a good mood and decided to wear my green blazer to the party.  It has some unhappy memories for me, so I thought a garden party would be the perfect occasion to override them with good ones.  On the way there I strolled through the Covered Market, and dropped by the Hatbox, a very alluring little shop that sells, you guessed it, boiled sweets.  Just kidding.  I found a very fetching summer hat, in an orangey red sort of colour, which goes very well with the green blazer.

Pleased with myself I checked out my new hat – I was wearing it, obviously! – in every shop window I passed.  But somehow I was not quite satisfied, a little something was missing.  A papier-mâché flower, perhaps?  I headed for another little specialty store, where I found, not a flower, but a darling little green bird (probably made of papier-mâché) in a colour very similar to the blazer.  I attached it to the headband of my new hat, called the bird Archibald, and sauntered off to the party.

The resulting outfit, and particularly Archibald, was much admired by all.  Green blazer, orange hat, green bird, orange scarf – it all worked very well together.  Unfortunately I had forgotten my camera, yet again, so you have to make do with photos of Anke wearing my ensemble.

 

 

Today my French version of Once Upon a Time arrived, so I shall spend the evening watching it while knitting another waistcoat.  And tomorrow I am off to the Strawberry Fields to pick enough strawberries to either make enough jam for the rest of the year or to make myself sick by eating them all.  It is anyone’s guess what will happen.  But I bought some fresh cream, just in case ….

Oxford Botanical Garden or Parc Fenestre in La Bourboule?

I am rather busy these days and don’t get out much.  But today after a few hours work I decided to pay a quick visit to the Botanical Garden.  It is just off the High Street and I pass it on my way to work and back, but I don’t often go – before work it is closed and after work it is closed, so I have to make a special effort if I want to go and I rarely do.

But today I did!  The weather was not too bad, sunny but in that washed out sort of way, so I am afraid the photos aren’t as richly colourful as they might be.  Still, you get an idea of what it is like.  It is one of the oldest – if not the oldest – botanical gardens in the world and part of the University.  There are also glasshouses with rare plants, and a huge tank full of water which houses a water lily which has leaves big enough for a child to sit on.  Unfortunately I didn’t go in there, the weather has been so miserable recently that I preferred to soak up the sun rather than go inside.  I did bump into a few friends on the way out - how likely is that?

The 23^rd was, as always, a very special day in my calendar, made more special still because I was able to bag one of the few cheap Eurostar tickets for my return from la Bourboule in September this year.  I stayed up until midnight, and one minute after midnight the tickets for my chosen date went on sale.  Three weeks ago I booked the ticket to go there, and got up at 4 am but was still too late to get a super cheap ticket – an almost cheap ticket was all that was still available.  You have to be fast to get one of those elusive super deals! 

 

One of my friends in Paris recently sent her children to go to kiddie camp in la Bourboule, and they loved it!  I am not surprised, la Bourboule is any child’s dream, especially Parc Fenestre!