PARIS IN SPRING

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28249, 10 April 1957, Page 2

PARIS IN SPRING

Queen Sees City Of Flowers

(From a Reuter Correspondent) PARIS, April 9.

Paris in the spring as the Queen is seeing it this week is a veritable city of flowers. The 7500 acres of public gardens and parks, the chestnut trees blooming along the wide avenues, and barrows piled high with cut flowers, all contribute to the intangible charm of a city which attracts millions of foreign visitors each year. The average Frenchman is as fond of nature as he is of food, and Paris spends about £1,500,000 each year on the upkeep of the municipal gardens and special floral displays.

There are 310 public gardens within the boundaries of the old wall and outside are the large wooded parks of Boulogne, Vincennes and Sceaux. The grands boulevards alone are lined by 80,000 trees, of more than 150 different varieties. 3000 Gardeners A staff of 3000 gardeners is responsible for the constant upkeep and seasonal planting of all the gardens. Bulbs and plants grown in spacious greenhouses at Auteuil, are moved to open air gardens when nearly ready to bloom. As soon as the first spring tulips, hyacinths and daffodils begin to fade, they are replaced by later blooming flowers, transplanted progressively through the months and culminating in a colourful display of chrysanthemums in the autumn. The master planner, the man who controls and directs all the gardens and botanical displays throughout Paris and the department of the Seine, is Mr Robert Joffet, who was decorated as an officer in the French Legion of Honour by a former President (Mr Vincent Auriol).