It’s just a year since my first post on Beyond the Window Box and I’ve been taking stock.  From my early descriptions of small scale gardening on our shady, Paris balcony I quickly branched out into exploration of the city’s parks and green spaces.

 

Window box daffodils, March 25th 2015
Cherry blossom, through an open window – April 2015
Canal Saint Martin, April 2015
A wet day in the Jardin des Plantes – April 2015
Palm and citrus trees, just moved out from the orangerie in the Jardin du Luxembourg, May 2015

 

As spring merged into summer I visited lesser known green places and revisited favourite haunts. I discovered wild flowers in the city and the unexpected pleasures of a beach by the River Seine, whatever the weather.

 

Echium and daisies on the Petite Ceinture
First rose on the balcony, May 2015
Red valerian in Père Lachaise cemetery
Hoping for sunshine on Paris Plage – July 2015
Welcome shade in Parc André Citroën, June 2015
A wet day in the Jardin du Luxembourg, July 2015

 

Sunny days and mild nights brought long-lasting autumn colour to street trees and parks. My photography improved, thanks to a new camera and I finally allowed myself to branch out into posts that didn’t always focus on plants, parks or gardens.  Street art and interesting doors ceased being accidental extras in portraits of trees and took centre stage in their own posts.

 

Playing in Place des Vosges, October 2015
Maple Orange – October 2015
Clipped lime trees turning towards autumn in the garden of the Palais Royal, September 2015
A house that’s not quite what it seems in rue des Ursins, November 2015
Autumn colour in Parc de Belleville, October 2015
Sunshine and street art in Parc de Belleville – October 2015

 

The end of the year was a strange time.   Only one month on from the horror of the November terrorist attacks, the world’s press was in town again for the COP21 climate change conference.  While remembering those who had died, been injured or bereaved, Paris reaffirmed the best of city life and looked towards the future.

 

Rainy day reflections – Place de la Concorde – Paris – November 2015
One month on in Place de la République, December 2015
1.5 degrees – the Eiffel Tower marks the successful conclusion of the COP21 conference, December 2015
Encounter with an iceberg outside the Pantheon, December 2015
A whale with a message – Butte aux Cailles – January 2016
Mist on the River Seine, Paris – January 2016

 

Now we’re back to the changeable weather of early spring.  Each returning season is familiar but different; each year’s discoveries are illuminated by last year’s experience.  I’ve learnt a lot in a blogging year, from researching the history of places I’ve photographed but also simply by looking more closely and finding a story to tell.  There’s so much more to discover!

 

Lost umbrella – Paris 4e – January 2016
Almond blossom in Montmartre, February 2016
Split level streets in the 9th arrondissement, February 2016
Cherry plum at Cimitière de Montparnasse – Paris – March 6th 2016
Early magnolias – Palais Royal – March 2016

 

Click on any photo in a block to view that gallery.