At a time when we rail in this country about supermarkets and excessive prices – concerns also matched in Australia – the inner city Barcelona food market delighted me. The Mercat De La Boqueria in the city dates back to 1217 which is pretty astonishing. Obviously, these people shop more frequently than I do and, were I living or working nearby, I would quite possibly pop in every other day to pick up fresh food. I feel our fruit and veg displays in this country lack flair and of course, being Europe, the cured meats and variation in cuts of meat make the offerings here look decidedly pedestrian.
You can do a lot with smooth flat stones if you are willing to faff around. Attention to detail makes a difference. How much more attractive are stones embedded side on in concrete rather than a utilitarian concrete drain? I photographed this at the entrance to Villa Thuret in Cap d’Antibes.
The same flat stones were also used in subtle nod to mosaic in the medieval village of Saint Paul de Vence, the same village where Marc Chagall ended his life and is buried. In Europe, people are well used to uneven surfaces and rough cobblestones that would be seen as health and safety hazards in countries like ours. Wear sensible shoes, I say, while acknowledging that this is not an environment that accommodates people with compromised mobility.
I played ‘spot the keen gardener’ in Saint Paul. In an environment where buildings and people are crammed in like sardines, where personal space is small and contained vertically in tall buildings, largely of stone, with little or no personal outdoor space, you can’t keep a determined gardener down. This person’s home was like an oasis amongst permanent and impermeable materials.
I photographed these ideas for low fences in the Ephrussi de Rothschild garden. I particularly like the natural style and informality of the fence constructed from garden prunings. You would want to be using a hard wood rather than a softer option which would rot down too quickly. It may also be that it takes longer than one might think because much depends on selecting the right pieces and trimming to fit but isn’t it charming, in an understated way?
The bamboo fence is easier to construct in a short space of time, if you have the right sort of bamboo to hand. It appears to be tied with a natural jute string which will need replacing before the bamboo but is easy enough to do. We have swapped to jute string in the garden because it blends in and breaks down in situ but the fine string only lasts about a year at the most, the coarser jute twine maybe two years. Both these simple fencing options probably cost nothing in materials bar the string.
In Clos de Peyronnet, I noted this approach to the perennial problem of garden hoses. Hoses lying around can be a hazard and even coiling one up to hang keeps it in full view. The retractable hose reel options add more plastic to the garden and don’t usually accommodate long hoses. Dig a hole, large enough to hold the coiled hose and put a slatted cover on top. I assume this cavity was a little too small to accommodate the length of hose but you get the general idea. It could be done with more precision, but even as it is, it stops the glaring intrusion of the garden hose which is not a thing of beauty.
In the same garden, I noted the presentation of the bulb collection. They had all finished flowering but the garden is noted for its specialist collection of rare bulbs with over 200 species. This is one way to display your bulb collection – somewhat like an outdoor auricula theatre. I immediately wondered about – but failed to find – the service area ‘out the back’ where they must carry out repotting. We have a huge bulb collection here but only the most difficult bulbs are in pots and they mostly live out of sight in a covered house. Over the years, we have transferred almost all our bulbs into the garden to avoid having to repot them at least every two years but it does take an attentive approach, skill and experience to keep rare or difficult bulbs growing in a garden situation. If you have a bulb collection in pots, you may like this presentation.
I took this photo because I couldn’t help but notice how tight parking spaces were in the south of France. You drive anything bigger than a small to medium sized car at your peril. The roads, too, are not designed for the oversized SUVs and twin cab utes of modern design so favoured in this country. Indeed, in Paris the parking fees were increased by referendum.
“The increase in parking rates will affect cars weighing more than 1,600 kg (or 2,000 kg in the case of electric cars). An hour of parking for SUVs in the city centre now costs €18 instead of the usual €6, whilst in the outskirts the cost is €12 instead of €4. For six hours of parking in the city centre, SUVs will be charged €225 instead of the previous €75.”
As one who deplores the bloated size and intimidatory presence of many modern domestic vehicles (all too often, that intimidatory presence is matched by intimidatory driving), I mentally cheered when I read about some UK councils responding to approaches to make car parks larger and longer to accommodate many popular modern vehicles by… banning them. Over-sized domestic vehicles just don’t fit into existing infrastructure.
I failed to photograph the acres of truck parking at the borders but I could not help but notice the hundreds of big rigs parked up as we neared the border from Spain on a Sunday evening. That is because France has banned freight trucks from 10pm Saturday night to 10pm Sunday night. Sundays, apparently, are for safer driving on the roads by families. They do things differently there.
Tikorangi The Jury Garden 