Thursday, May 22, 2014

My Parisian Flowers



I spent the past several months coming home to plantless planters and looking out at empty window boxes. Accustomed to this landscape and busy with my various occupations, I didn’t even consider replacing the plants that once illuminated my surroundings. And then a sunny day at the start of May, I thought back to the lovely petunias we once had in our windows…

The problem is: I don’t have much of a green thumb. Quite a shame for a girl whose parents once won one of those prizes for their flower garden. I guess this sort of talent isn’t genetic.

But, luckily, I didn’t have to fret for long. My mother-in-law has a very green thumb! So to the rescue she came with both green plants and flowers that she carefully planted (with the help of 3-year-old P. who loved digging in the dirt and wearing gardening gloves!) in window boxes and outdoor planters. A spot of the countryside in Paris…


Because the countryside can indeed be found in Paris. Of course in obvious places like the many public gardens or along the banks of the Seine or Canal Saint-Martin. But the countryside is also present in less obvious locations, such as private courtyards or along balconies… So when you are in Paris, don’t forget to look up (or peer in when you see a big apartment building entrance open).

When my mom would visit me in Paris, one of our favorite things was walking along and all of a sudden taking a glance through one of those impressive doorways… and seeing such lovely assortments of plants! These sorts of surprises often come along in the least-expected places, making them especially delightful.

Even though I’ve lived in Paris for a while, the discovery of a hidden courtyard still delights me. In the meantime, I now have a few petunias to gaze at when I have a moment to tear myself away from the computer!


What are your favorite window box plants? What are your favorite “countryside things” to be found in a city?

12 comments:

  1. Sorry for that last comment - it's hard to type and feed a baby at the same time. I hope you can delete it :)

    Anyway, I was just saying that I do that too - peek into open doorways. You never know what beautiful Parisian scene awaits you! I wrote a blog post about it (queued up for the end of June) because I just love it so much. That's also a great tip to "look up" when you're strolling the streets of Paris - there are so many beautiful balconies and flowers to enjoy!

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  2. Ha, ha! No problem... I'll look forward to reading your post. And yes, it's so funny to pass the same street you've passed dozens of times and finally you look up and say "Wow! I had no idea there was practically a garden up there!" That's happened to me many times.

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  3. I love your garden-in-pots. We too are learning to develop our own bit of garden in this way: largely herbs in our case. Good luck with the green fingers....

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    1. Thank you, Margaret! It does make such a difference to walk out the door or look out the window and see the beautiful green and colorful flowers. Good luck with the herbs. We wish we could do those, but don't get enough sunlight in our little "garden" space. The herbs will be great for your cooking!

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  4. So glad you have some beautiful greenery to enjoy again on your balcony. You should take a look at Louise's post at A Strong Belief in Wicker this week. She's talking about French gardens and includes an article about an amazing garden on the roof of Hermes right there in Paris. It includes an apple tree, which I just can't get my head around, how an apple tree could grow on a rooftop. Thanks for playing along today. Here’s my Dreaming of France meme

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    1. I will have to check out that post! Sounds interesting... Thanks for reading, Paulita.

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  5. So pretty an oasis in the middle of the city.

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    1. Thank you! Indeed it is a nice break from city life. :)

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  6. I do love the window boxes of Paris, and take many pictures of them every trip. Petunias are nice, I know most everyone else likes them, but for some reason I don't really like geraniums.

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    1. I'm with you... I do prefer petunias. One year, we had such beautiful petunias so I hope we will have luck again with them this year. Thanks for reading!

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  7. Flowers, colorful ones. :)

    Seriously, like you I can't keep anything alive, though I love window boxes in cities. For a long time we lived on base where we couldn't eat anything we grew in the ground because it was so heavily treated with pesticides. I tried for a couple of annuals and did have some of the tulips come back the next year - but I have a hard time 'judging' my own flowers, which is why I always wanted to try to grow something to eat.

    I'm rambling. Thank goodness for your mother in law - good luck keeping them going!

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    1. Thanks, April! I find it so hard to judge whether or not they need water... My husband has more of a green thumb so hopefully we can keep the flowers alive. We wish we could grow some veggies or herbs but don't have enough direct sunlight. Thanks for visiting!

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