Ce poirier est mort en 1978 a 111 ans

We took a walk in the Luxembourg Gardens last evening. It had been a hot day … for that matter a hot week … and many Parisians were enjoying the cool that the garden has to offer. As we stood on the upper level looking out over the gardens a floral fragrance wafted up to our noses. We think that it is THIS plant. Can anyone offer a name? [remember I’m a vegetable gardener] It was planted in clusters with other lower plants throughout the garden and the aroma followed us everywhere.

We found a pair of chairs overlooking a lovely green spot and caught up on the events of the week and of our weeks apart. It felt so calming to be looking out over something green again.

My husband wanted me to see the espaliered apple and pear orchard in the corner of the garden. What a treat! Each espaliered tree has it’s a tag which dates its planting, explains the method of espalier, the number of years it would take to maturity, and, of course, its varietal name.

Most of the trees we saw were espaliered in a double U form. There was, however, a pear tree described in the “palmette Verrier a 19 branches.” The tree was planted in 1867 and it took 50 years to come to maturity. Once mature it produced 100 kg annually. The tree died in 1978 at the age of 111.