Bordeaux and Palmiers

If you read my other blog, you’ll know that my decision to visit the Journée des Plantes this weekend was based more  on the fact that I was not in the mood to do my homework than on a true love for plants, but it was a welcome surprise.

The festival has place twice every year in Courson (in the spring and in the fall) since it opened in 1982 after the Association des Parcs Botaniques de France asked the château to host their annual festival, and people come from all over France to visit and to buy and sell flowers, herbs, trees, seeds and shrubbery. The day we went, it was chock full of people wandering the grounds and looking at all the beautiful things.

It takes place at a big château in the suburbs just south of Paris, which you can see in the background of this picture. The château originally belonged to Nicolas Lamoignon, and it was inhabited by a cousin of Napoleon, the Duke of Padua.

I don’t know too much about plants, so as Alex and I walked around, we mostly just pointed out the ones we liked. I liked this ivy.

And these weird, pricky-looking pink flowers.

And these fuzzy grape-ish things. (I’m very scientific with my flower identification.)

Cousin It was there too. He enjoyed the flowers as well.

I couldn’t help taking pictures of fountains…

… even though they’re not flowers. Or even really plants at all.

Once you were done looking at flowers, this activity was also an option, which amused me greatly. If you don’t speak French… it means, “climb a tree.” There was a guy with a harness and everything. I found it rather funny to see a full-grown man in a tree.