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Project 365: Week 10 – Jardin

We are lucky that there are gardens and parks everywhere in Paris. For a major city, it is quite green and often colourful. And to the gardening enthusiasts, even small apartment sizes are no deterrent. They work their magical green fingers to nurture something on their balconies and their rooftops. Annually, there are even special open days where public could meet the gardeners of major parks for chit-chat and tips exchange!

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Bird

3 Mar: Sure sign of spring, right? We’re starting to spot birds other than pigeon coming out from hiding, chirping away happily, and some would even try to follow us around with cute little expression which says “feed me”. We could do with more foliage on the trees though, since they’re still looking a little bare. Can’t wait for the warmer and longer days. I need more daylight, please!


Balcony garden

4 Mar: I’ve been flirting with the idea of growing a small balcony garden, especially when I keep spotting quaint ones like this when I am out and about. On one hand, I’m rubbish with plants and would probably end up killing whatever there is instead of nurturing them to bloom. Moreover, we don’t really have small balcony to speak off, just railing we could hang portable garden trays. On the other, if by off chance that things work out, look at how pretty it could be!


Cherry blossom

5 Mar: My favourite bloom at this time of the year. It also reminds me of my undergraduate days, cocooned in the canteen of the Faculty of Science of the university, looking out to the cherry blossom garden right beside it. It inevitably made me happy (because it was spring and summer was just round the corner) and at the same time, anxious and a little jittery (because academic year end finals were also fast approaching!). Those were the simple days… ah…


Daisies

6 Mar: I’m not sure why I bother cleaning my shoes when I know I’d be going for a walk in the park. Places like Luxembourg and Tuileries Gardens with their sandy bosquets inevitably mean I’d soon be sporting a new layer of dust on my shoes. Green patches in these gardens are also rare, but for now, while it’s still a bit too chilly for picnics, these daisies get a chance to thrive and provide splashes of colour.


Door way

7 Mar: Now, this is another way to construct a garden – in-built it to the decor! This rather striking door is not only framed in coloured tiles and thus stands out quite spectacularly, but the mosaic details and the small leaf-themed relief reinforce the notion of nature as decorative motives. This “garden” is also easier to maintain than wines and other climbing plants, so it’s a win-win.


Sunset at Tuileries

8 Mar: Another clear day, another chance to venture into gardens in the city centre. I was actually on my way back from WHSmith nearby, but could not resist stopping at the Tuileries for a few minutes. With the sun starting to set, the garden looks stunningly ethereal. I wish I could capture the colour and the mood better, but it seems I’m currently not the mistress to which my camera should obey. Drat!


Rooftop garden

9 Mar: In Paris, where a majority of its residents rent the apartments they live in, I’ve often wonder, who gets the use of the rooftop? More particularly, who gets the access to use the rooftop as a garden? Such a sight is pretty common, but I have hard time imagining any resident of the building could use it. In our old building, we tried but couldn’t even find the way up from the common areas. Mystery of the day.




Category: Project 365

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2 scribbles & notes

  1. Chloé says:

    For my mom’s building for example, the roof used to be open-access to the tenants (NY style :P) but a number of years ago the owner of the last floor managed to obtain “ownership” of the only stairs leading to it so now he’s the only one who gets to use it… (In theory, the place was not properly secure so no one was supposed to access it anyway, he just closed off the stairs leading to his own place really… Still my mom says there was a nice view over Parisian fireworks from up there! Shame I’ll never be able to check for myself.)

    • Lil says:

      Such a shame indeed… Funnily enough, I have not checked out what the condition re rooftop access of my current building ;)

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