Jardin de Luxembourg, Paris
Hurrying to get somewhere yesterday, I took the time to walk through a pretty garden on the way. It is a long skinny one along a street, and as I walked, I noticed all the spring flowers nodding behind their little fence, and the nice scent in the air. But I also noticed how straight everything was, and how the children had to play in the dirt path, and the students had to sit on a bench.
A woman about 50 saw me looking at the daffodils and smiled at me. Then she shook her head. "We don't know how to make a garden in Paris!" she said to me.
Thinking she meant that the gardeners had slacked off (there were quite a few dead plants), I said, "Oh, it's still nice to walk here, don't you think?"
She shook her head again. "Rows and rows and rows. Nothing but rows [que des rangées]. That's not a garden."
Jardin des Tuileries, Paris
That made me think back to my very first day in France, when I went to the Tuileries, excited to see this famous garden. All right, it was November, but still. I almost cried in disappointment. The "garden" turned out to be nothing but long straight lines and dirt!
Probably that makes French people laugh as I did when one of my cousins came to Paris and said of the Mona Lisa, "I don't see what all the fuss is about. It's a little bitty thing!"
Jardin des Plantes, Paris
Jardin de l'Hôtel Soubise (Archives Nationales), Paris
Jardin de l'Hôtel Biron (Rodin Museum), Paris
Since then, I have learned to appreciate the elegance of the French model, which was possibly brought to France from Italy by the Medici queens of France. The best defense of it I ever saw was given by Harold Acton, an American-British esthete who inherited the beautiful villa La Pietra outside of Florence (he bequeathed it to New York University). I can't find the quotation, but he wrote that the symmetry of an Italian garden, with its statues, urns and cypresses, makes it beautiful at all times of year, even in the snow, unlike (he implied) an English garden.
Parc André Citroën, Paris
Jardin des Invalides, Paris
But this is one more thing where I will never be French. I still think a big city like Paris could use some gardens where little children could play in a grassy meadow (without dog poop, unlike the Bois de Boulogne) and lovers could wander through a wood. Like these.
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
Regent's Park, London
Central Park, New York
Stanley Park, Vancouver
That's why the Parc des Buttes Chaumont is so different, so not French, and in my opinion, so good.
Posted by: philhellene | 22 March 2012 at 22:39
I almost mentioned Buttes-Chaumont!... but it was the lovely exception that proves the rule. Unfortunately I don't live anywhere near it.
Posted by: Sedulia | 22 March 2012 at 23:33
So much that I love about the Jardin de Luxembourg, but I do wish sometimes for a big of romp-worthy grass. We enjoyed discovering Buttes Chaumont last visit.
And I'm thrilled to see our own Stanley Park included with those other great city parks; it truly is a treasure.
Posted by: materfamilias | 23 March 2012 at 03:49
Stanley Park is the most beautiful city park I've ever seen, but not every city has the luck to be as beautiful as Vancouver!
Posted by: Sedulia | 23 March 2012 at 11:03
Have you walked in Le Bois de Vincennes, and better still inside Le Parc Floral? I have taken my kid there for years, every time we stop by the visit our relatives, in fact. Both wonderful places. Give them a try! Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)
Posted by: Veronique Savoye | 23 March 2012 at 15:46
I love this entry! It's so true, sometimes perfection can be a little boring!
Posted by: anglo | 23 March 2012 at 17:02
I agree, Les Butte Chaumont is fantastic. but it is the exception that proves the rule. Such a bizarre park as well. Fake Roman temple on high with an amazing city view, big rolling hills, fake grotto - but all incredibly charming.
michellenyc
Posted by: Michellenyc | 26 March 2012 at 03:41