The Plant Whisperer. Read on in today's story. amour-en-cage (uh-moor-ahn-kazh) noun, masculine     : ornamental plant*, of American origin [literal translation: "love in a cage"] *a.k.a.: physalis or "Chinese Lantern" Listen to today's word: amour-en-cage: Download amour-en-cage.wav. Download amour-en-cage.mp3 A Day in a French Life… by Kristin Espinasse I told you about the Ban des Vendanges: that official proclamation issued by a modern-day "lord" inciting … Continue reading amour-en-cage

What do you do when a plant savant gives you two dozen botanical cuttings? You speed home from the village, dart out to the clothesline, and grab all the clothespins you can get, run back into the kitchen and scour the armoire for glasses (champagne flutes, wine goblets, old jam jars…)… then you carefully label each and every species (thanks to the handwritten notes that … Continue reading “Lexique” + a botanical glossary of plants in Provence

In the town of Sault, the last week of June, the lavender fleurettes were too shy to show themselves, so I snapped a photo of these instead. Order a bottle of Domaine Rouge-Bleu and read what wine enthusiasts are saying about our first vintage. fleurette (flur-et) noun, feminine    : floweret Expressions:conter fleurette = to say pretty things, to flirtla crème fleurette = liquid creamfleurettes du … Continue reading fleurette

Monsieur Farjon (hand in the air, ever ready to participate in "plant talk". Notice what the other man is holding: a gift from Monsieur? More in today's column). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"Feuilletons et Frères" "Oh, wasn't that sweet!" I say to my daughter after her brother called from summer camp, anxious to talk to her. "He misses you!""No," Jackie insists. "He just wanted to know what happened next … Continue reading Feuilleton: Meeting Monsieur Farjon “The Plant Whisperer”