Municipal planting, French Style

I've visited a few French gardens while on holidays in the Brittany and Normandy regions but they haven't generally excited me, so many opportunities not taken. Perhaps I'm being unfair, some are fun and are pushing the envelope. The Jardin Exotique  at Roscoff on the coast is a great diversion if heading to or from the ferry (Going to UK or Ireland)

However what I've seen of the unashamed planting styles employed in public areas around the towns and cities are brilliant. 

Ok, given the week that's in it (Chelsea) there weren't many that I saw which would scoop gold or even a silver gilt medal, but they surely beat the carpet bedding style favoured by Council parks departments in the UK and Ireland. 

They really pack them in, with and explosion of form and colour.

Brassica oleracea var. ramosa 'Daubenton Panache' with Solenostemon (Coleus) the green dangling flowers of Nicotiana langsdorfii behind.
This variegated perennial Kale is a favourite of mine which I grow in my own garden. It doesn't bloom, or at least mine certainly hasn't to date and is incredibly easy to strike form cuttings. The foliage if grown in rich soil reaches great proportons. Being a Brassica the caterpillars of the cabbage white butterfly can be an issue, patrols are necessary and decisive action must be taken before any eggs hatch.

I'm undecided on the current trend for 'green walls', I mean I get it, greening buildings, improving the look of the urban landscape, introducing colour, but I don't know if I actually like it. Frenchman Patric Blanc is one of the leading exponents of the style, and I've seen pictures of the indoor vertical garden he has installed in his own home which is beautiful. Outdoors I've seen them working less successfully, maintenance for the life of the project must be factored in, they can't exist long term without ensuring that the drip irrigation water supply is in good working order and that any plants which fail are replaced quickly. Who wants dead brown patches on the side of their building. The example above, at the tourist office in the beautiul walled town of Dinan appeared to work well, this section was echoed indoors (visible through the glass to the left) with houseplants which were of a simiar appearance but can withstand low light conditions.  

This display left me less impressed, a surfeit of (I'm assuming) Argyranthemum isn't incredibly inspring, though the thrusting paddle shaped leaves of the Ensete (Relatives of the banana) do add excitement.

No one could accuse the gardening team of being afraid of colour.

 

This planting in the centre of Rennes (the Breton capital) was interesting. The almost bucolic scheme relied heavily on the use of various grasses, and contrasted markedly with the grand facades of the surrounding buildings. To me it worked in most parts, and I'm not a massive fan of the current naturalistic planting trend.

I rather enjoyed this cooler slightly more sophisticated planting around the walls of St Malo, I'd lose the Petunias myself but the ideas and colours were along the right lines. The shaggy lolling uprights of  Helianthus salicifolius may need to be repositioned to give a better balance of form but who couldn't like them, Green Cousin itts adding a relaxed feel to the scheme. The late summer yellow sunflower blooms may need to be pinched out for those of a nervous disposition who couldn't cope with their vibrancy amid all the cool blue greens.

Seing this picture also reminds me that I also must track down another Helianthus salicifolius, having lost one to the predations of slugs a few years back. It's much too good a foliage plant for a garden to be without.