Why I Oughta...

I've lusted after the green Versailles Orangerie planter boxes that you see all over Paris filled with trees in gardens and parks.  I've posted about them a couple of times here on the blog and even thought about trying to make one on my own .  While were were trouncing around Paris this Summer, we certainly saw the original ones with upright wood slats.  But, I also was tuned into a new version: made from metal.   Here, below, is one of them I saw on a side street in Paris.  It has a scrubby tree/shrub in it, but feels fairly underplanted. And, below, are pair of them (unplanted as well) in the park leading to the Eiffel Tower.    A closer look inside these shows they are two-piece containers with an interior 'cage' that seems it can be 'lifted out' (see the corner hooks below).  I'm guessing that two-piece setup is intended for Winter as they can leave the planter in place, but take the tree to the Orangerie for overwintering.  The ot...

The past few seasons, I've planted (at least) one container with an annual flower pattern that we first saw in the beds at Luxembourg Gardens in Paris a few years back.  Here's one example - showing a combination of red, orange/yellow and blue/purple with Blue Salvia (Salvia farinacea), a yellow Zinnia and in front a red Wave petunia.  I've used marigolds in lieu of Zinnias in other years like the corner box last year .   I've drawn other inspiration from this very same garden - from chairs to edging to using cocoa bean mulch to the use of London Planetrees to falling in love with  the orangerie box to espalier of various forms .  One of the things that I was surprised by (not sure why) was that they have updated their annuals and the patterns they were using in their beds around Luxembourg Gardens in Paris this Summer (June 2022).   In the more sunny section of the garden - around the big fountain - they're now showing a series of beds tha...