Les légumes de Paris

Tucked away quietly in the Parc de Bercy (PARIS 12ème) is le jardin potager de Bercy, an edible kitchen garden for kids of all ages to feel enriched with the spirit of nature.  In a city where so much is constantly happening, this garden is a simple way to get away from all the noise and consumption.  

Although there seems to be some man in the first picture, residing over the garden, the school children of Paris are actually the ones with dirty hands around these veggie beds.  Starting them young will help encourage them to be fully conscious city dwellers in the future.

In all reality, one thing that I can honestly admit that I miss is gardening.  Being in a city for another extended period of time after having learned so much all summer and then using that knowledge to get a great garden going again in Australia has halted that growth.  Seeing this jardin potager inspired me to find more ways to @addmoregreen while I am in Paris.

Another thing I have noticed while living in a city again is how difficult it is to find convenient ways of composting your edible waste.  There seems to be a really great setup going in this garden, but that's not spreading the word to a large enough audience.

There's a place for compost in it's first stage, around 2 months.

Then there is another place for compost that is ripe or mature, at the end of 6 months.

This is a really great setup to grow lettuces during the winter, it keeps them protected from weather that gets a bit too harsh, but still provides enough sun during the day to keep them energized.

There weren't too many ripe raspberries, but I found one and it was delicious.

Here are two guides to the vegetables that are provided to the Île-de-France, cultivated from the garden at Bercy: three types of cabbage, chicory, gherkin, potatoes, crosne (vegetable isn't in my dictionary, I have no clue what it is), red winter squash, lamb's lettuce, and spinach.

Vegetables provided to Paris, cultivated at the jardin potager also: onions, white gherkin, small green gherkin, big white winter squash, carrots, sorrel, and lettuce.

This was a great garden expierience, and it happened out of nowhere as Guy and I stumbled upon the jardin potager while walking through the Parc de Bercy.  The parc, home to the Maison du Jardinage, seems like a great place for a community garden in Paris...now if only we can find ways to bring them to every arrondissement.