Garden shops along the Seine

Another Parisian stop that was recommended by friends: garden shops along the Seine, just a skip down from the Louvre and a skip up from Notre-Dame.

Can you even wrap your head around the idea that a bit of prime river-front real estate would be occupied by plant stores? I couldn't, and I first tried to find them a couple blocks further back, my notes couldn't possibly be right?

But no! There they were, right next to the river. With plants!

Even Cactus...

And "erect" ivy...

See!?... I do not make this stuff up.

This place was closed. Too bad, they had possibilities.

But then there was Vilmorin: "Today, nearly 273 years later, the Vilmorin store is still in the same place, with the same desire to perpetuate the spirit of service and passion of the garden in the heart of Paris" Seriously! (source)

Two hundred and seventy three years!? Hell, Portland is only 167 years old, having been incorporated on February 8, 1851. This store is over 100 years older than my city...

I'm not sure I can really comprehend.

The plants on the sidewalk were fun to peruse, but inside was even more interesting.

There were lots and lots of containers.

A ton of different types of soil and soil amendments.

A twine selection like I've never seen.

And seeds. OH MY GOD THE SEEDS!

Passionflower being sold as much for its fruit as its flower.

Looks like that guy has a painful back, poor fellow.

I couldn't resist, this packet of Tajinaste rojo came home with me. I suck at seeds but I'm really gonna try to make these happen. Send me all the positive seed vibes that you can (and check out this blog if you want to see some great photos of this plant).

Seed pucks, ha!

I can't help but wonder how much sucess people have with some of these...

I guess they're definitely in it for the long haul.

Back outside there was a palm! Chamaerops humilis

In another shop just down the boulevard...holy Opuntia fruit! More fruit than pads, how is that even possible?

Sweet! A favorite of mine...

Same stupid name in France though.

Finally we ended the stretch of plant shops and needed to go find a cafe and have a glass of vino!

Pretty fabulous though...

Weather Diary, March 12: Hi 69, Low 41/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Euphorbia rigida, never the same plant twice

I adore Euphorbia rigida, and plenty of people I know seem to feel the same way. Photos of this plant have been showing up on blogs, Facebook and Instagram for weeks. And I noticed something, it never looks the same, it's a little different in every garden. A post by Jennifer at Rock Rose: Long Lasting Spring Bloomer really stood out to me. This is how her plants look, just before they bloom, with that light green flare at the tip.

My plant has never looked like this! She also noted "It is a mystery to me why it was given the species name 'rigida' because it is anything but rigid, the stems trailing along the ground like the tentacles of an octopus. It needs plenty of room to complete its annual growing cycle."

So when I cracked open the latest issue of Atomic Ranch...

And saw that little Euphorbia below (near the fold), of course I thought of Jennifer.

That is a VERY rigid plant. I've never seen a Euphorbia quite like it.

Then I saw a post by Denise over at A Growing Obsession. Those are pretty rigid Euphorbia, don't you think?

Mine tend more towards the lazy rambling side.

All of my current plants are offspring of just one I planted several years ago.

That's the best thing about this plant, it gives you others, and knows just where to put them.

And they're easily pulled if they show up where you don't want them.

Plus, they make great cut flowers (shown along with a stem of Helleborus argutifolius and a few cuttings of Grevillea australis).

But please be mindful of the sap. The latex that oozes from a cut is nasty, irritating stuff. It's why I didn't arrange these stems more carefully. Not that it matters, they're lovely wherever they land.

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for links other bloggers with a more studied approach to their vase offerings. And check out the tag #euphorbiarigida on Instagram for tons of photos of this interesting — and ever changing — plant.

Weather Diary, March 11: Hi 68, Low 42/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.