Green is in?

 I think GREEN is IN (Degas blue-green)

I’m seeing a lot of it

Tous Léger = Spring, musée Luxembourg

 

Monday afternoon I went to a preview of a joyous new exhibit

TOUS LÉGER - full of color, light & wit.

Peonies in Paris

On Friday someone commented,” Carol, i just love your peony watercolour sketches! Will you be offering them for purchase? I think of them as "A Suggestion of Peonies." 🌸 

A seed was planted. Late at the Sunday Bastille marché, finally headed home, loaded with pamplemousse, I noticed the flower stand was packing up. 

Culinary Retreat with Shannon & Wlady Grochowski

Meet Shannon Grochowski, our hostess at the culinary retreat. I will post mostly photos..the wi-fi at Abbaye de Reigny was a tad slow…

The aroma of molten Valrhona chocolat is in the air. We inhale 👃 only the best chocolate 🍫 

Jardins, Jardin - Bois de Bologne, Chanel l’Iris

 

For 4 days, May 30 - June 2, the Bois de Boulogne became an olfactory experience. Usually it’s held at Tuileries but because of the Olympics 

Plus total immersion in Chanel’s purple irises in bloom at Jardins, Jardin. 

Jeudi 15 Juin, Jardin du Luxembourg, Gazpacho, Les Prés d’Eugénie

This is what we do in Paris when it gets hot. Close shutters early to trap the morning cool air.

I’m still in Liz’s teacup class, still painting teacups ☕️ 

Jardins, Jardin 2023

Yesterday I ate a hot air balloon 🎈 cookie 🍪 

I sniffed beaucoup beautiful roses 🌹 

Mille et Une Orchidées, Jardin des Plantes

 

On Tuesday I went to the celebration of the 10th anniversary edition of "A Thousand & One Orchids"

I visited last year 

Jardins Jardin 2022

 

The annual 4-day (on through Sunday) JARDINS JARDIN has arrived in the Tuileries. Aside for a torrential downpour the weather has been grand.

And very much missed after a 2-year hiatus.

Its a week or so until the start of summer in Paris. My recent obsession with painting glass 

Drew me to beautiful jars filled with fruit and veg. 

You can also buy very small green houses. Will they fit on my little patch of roof?

The bee 🐝 people with honey from Paris rooftops are here again, CITYBZZ with the latest in what to wear when bee-keeping.

Why didn’t I buy fresh 🍓berries at LA FERME DE GALLY instead of jam? 

Their nectar framboise looked yummy. I am definitely going back. 

You can buy cherry tomato 🍅 plants for your balcon. 

The fresh mint plants smells heavenly. 

There are the beautiful designer gardens for total immersion with steaming fountains and trickling brooks to make you forget you’re in the middle a busy city. 

Buy a ready-to-go picnic basket lunch and camp out on the grounds.

Chanel has again installed a garden presenting their latest red Camellia creations in 2 ‘red’ greenhouses. 

But first immersion into the scent of No.#1 as red flowers dance and flow over you. 

Then a visit to the lab for more details and pretty flower samples to make us forever young😊 I was inspired to run home and get out my red paints. 

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🐝🍓🌺🍓🌺🍓🌺🍓🌺🍓🌺🍓🌺🍓🌺🍓🌺🍓🐝

Mille et Une Orchidées, Jardin des Plants et Vanille

We went to see the orchids yesterday at Mille et Une Orchidées show at Jardins des Plants, 47 rue de Cuvier 75005

Bear had big dreams of climbing tropical trees. We browsed instead. 

There was plenty to browse. 1001 varieties of worldwide Orchids. The greenhouse known as Les Grandes Serres was build in the 1830s, redesigned in Art Deco style in 1930s and recently renovated in 2010.

The 9th annual orchid show is on till March 21. It’s easiest to buy your ticket online. This year’s poster was produced by photographer/plant lover Thibault Charpentier. You can discover 20 unmissable orchids by orchidist Romain Maire. Maire is collaborated with Corentin Pfeiffer to create a floral scene in the pool at the foot of the large rock.

The orchid idea was planted in my head at the Salon de l’Agriculture last week 

After inhaling the subtle fragrance of vanilla beans from Tahiti and Réunion, Madagascar at the Salon. Vanilla is produced from the orchid species, Vanilla planifolio. 

Its such an integral part of French culture and cuisine, perfumes and cosmetics because of the availability of top quality beans from Réunion (formerly named Bourbon), which provides 75% of the world’s supply. I bought vanilla beans, powder + extract from La Domaine de Bellevue, prize winners at the Salon.

In the end I did not see any Vanilla orchids at the show. 

The Vanilla orchid flowers for 24 hours once a year. Then wilts and dies. Not exactly the ideal example for a flower show. 

Still there were many tropical wonders to experience like reflection pools and walking on flat stones inside a cave over water.

And such a variety of colors, textures and fragrances.

Or so they told us, though you couldn’t get very close to the blooms to smell their perfume.

Its quite hot in there as well and in the 30s outside so one mustn’t grumble.

Thank goodness for the closeup power of camera/ iPad lenses. 

Everyone was taking pictures like mad. 

And I’ve been trying to paint orchids like mad for the last 2 days. I may need to go back for a refresher. Later on I saw the first cherry blossoms at Les Halls! Its hard to believe Spring is coming soon 🌸🌸🌸❤️❤️❤️