~ Garden Elements ~
P L A N T U R N
My first daffodil bloom peeked out this week with many more buds ready to join it any day. Daffodils swaying in a light wind made me think about gardens and French design on Friday. In Paris, there are favorite gardens I love to visit over and over again for their beauty, for their inspiration, and for their chairs to rest my weary feet after hours of sightseeing.
Jardin des Tuileries (The Tuileries Garden), the oldest park in Paris, was created by Queen Catherine de Medici as the garden of the Tuileries Palace. Located between the Louvre Museum and Place de la Concorde, the park was opened to the public one hundred years later, but was still a royal garden.
After the French Revolution The Tuileries Garden became a public park and is beloved by Parisians and tourists. The park is always filled with both Parisians and tourists relaxing, playing games, strolling through the flower gardens, or lounging, reading, or dozing in the public chairs.
If you see me in The Tuileries Garden, I am probably lounging or dozing in the public chairs. Or staring at the beautiful statues and urns.
Large urns decorating the garden are classical French style with their curved silhouettes and floral garlands, a style that continues to be popular with formal gardeners and homeowner gardeners.
If you want French style planters in your garden, look for planters with the same shape as the Tuileries planters. Style elements include a footed base, a curved silhouette, and a flared lip. Floral garlands are a bonus.
As all classic design, the planter design can also be used in other objects. A clear glass votive candle holder with an etched wavy pattern also functions as a dessert dish for a Last Minute Valentine's Day Dessert. Very française in design and in joie de vivre (joy of living.)
Good design can be used for more than one item. And votive candle holders can be used for more than their original purpose. Think of all the uses of a French-style votive candle holder.
- votive candle
- Valentine's Day dessert
- toothpicks
- matches
- Q-tips
- artificial sweetener packets
- business cards
- small violet plant (back to its original design roots)
- ...
French Country living is celebrating
the ordinary in extraordinary ways.
Each Friday Botanic Bleu goes to the source for French design through snapshots of French architecture, houses, textiles, metal work, food, woodwork, landscapes... and discovers inspiration for creating a French-inspired garden and home.
How do you use French-style planters?
Pop back in next Monday to see more of the Last Minute Valentine's Dessert served in the candle votive glasses. I believe in easy as long as it tastes good.
