Paris is a wonderful city for walkers and explorers. While living in the city, I explored all the large and small public green spaces and led tours of the parks for the Paris Garden Guild. Many of the public parks were once the private domains of royalty; I sometimes felt like a queen walking on the paths of the Parc Monceau, which was once owned by a cousin of Louis XVI, or when strolling through the Bagatelle, where Empress Eugenie watched her son take riding lessons.
In addition to the interesting history of these public Paris green spaces, the excellent plantings and the high level of maintenance given to the plants makes touring the parks a great pleasure. The parks also provide a welcome counterbalance to the all the museum going, which is wonderful but exhausting.People who have been to Paris many times are often surprised when they see my photos, because they have never noticed the places I photographed.
The show I created of my photos of Paris Parks has been very well received since I began presenting it to garden clubs in 2005. After a show, audience members often share memories of a long ago trip to Paris or their excitement about an upcoming visit. The Paris Parks show encourages audiences to take the time to stroll the parks on their next visit, or simply to enjoy the images as armchair travelers through that beautiful and romantic city.