Hello, delightful plant lovers. I just returned from a little jaunt to Paris, where I spent a lot of time checking out plants, poking around in herb shops and feeling amazed at the wide availability of medicinal herbs everywhere–even in the airport. I especially enjoyed the practice of growing artichokes everywhere, including in random streetside plantings, botanical gardens, parks and flowerpots. I enjoyed Elder everywhere. I enjoyed glimpses of secret gardens in courtyards and behind fences. I enjoyed Mimosa trees and Lindens lining the sidewalks, huge sages buzzing with bees and vervain tea in every pharmacy. I also visited parks and botanical gardens and, though a few seemed a bit structured for my personal taste noone seemed to mind when i touched, smelled, even tasted massive rosemary shrubs, every possible flavor of scented geranium, pine resins, rose bushes and bitter greens.
I got the feeling that every inch of soil that COULD be used to grow something was, and that felt exciting to me. I have previously only visited Paris in cold months and this was a revelation-the riot of pollinators, the birds, the shades of green, the late summer babymakin’ flower explosion. So I’m feeling inspired, and here are a few photos for y’all: