She finally brought on a partner this spring to help with the workload. She works over 80 hours per week to make a living, translating in the evenings after long days at her Parisian plot, and driving for two hours each weekend to work on another farm in La Perche. But she doesn’t have time to “do coffee”. “I get emails all of the time from people who want to meet up over coffee to talk to me about their dream of quitting their job and doing what I do,” she says shaking her head. “I could have just planted five or ten different kinds of flowers to make my life a lot easier, but I planted over 200 varieties, which all have different needs and flower at different times.” Seedlings are started in the greenhouse In fact, much of Masami Charlotte’s workload comes from her own determination to do things her own way. “As soon as it starts raining they move fast.” None of this seems to slow her down, though. “I lost 50% of my flowers to slugs in one night,” she tells our small group with a sigh. The day of my visit she’s relieved that the sky is overcast after a few scorching days of full sun. Plein Air Paris “Living the Dream”Īside from the usual challenges of making a farm successful, there’s the additional work involved when your mission is to avoid toxic pesticides used in traditional flower cultivation. They’re started in greenhouses, but they’re raised to harvest right in the field. The flowers grown here aren’t just chosen for their looks, scent or “vase life”, but also because of their compatibility with the Ile-de-France climate. Today, Plein Air combines biodynamic farming practices with the use of efficient microorganisms to cultivate flowers in harmony with the natural environment. ![]() ![]() It took so long, when I finally reached the back wall I almost cried I was so happy.” “I would clear a section and plant it, then move along to the next section and do the same thing. The 1200m plot was completely dominated by thistles when she arrived, and because no machinery could fit through the small doorway to get to the land, everything had to be uprooted by hand, something she did over the course of that first year, meter by meter. “They didn’t seem to think I could do the physical work,” she says with a laugh. It took her three years to find the land and convince the City to finally accept her proposal in 2017 as part of City Hall’s Parisculteurs initiative to green the city. Plein Air founder, Masami Charlotte Lavault After training in biodynamic gardening in Morocco and Great Britain, in the use of effective microorganisms (EM) in Okinawa in Japan, and in organic floriculture with the American horticulturist Erin Benzakein of Floret Flowers, she returned to France determined to create a flower farm without pesticides, without insecticides, and without chemical fertilizers. Belleville Cemetery Entrance The Door to Pleine Air Paris About the FounderĪfter studying industrial design at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and at Central Saint Martins in London, Masami Charlotte switched gears to focus on agriculture. I joined a group of about a dozen other visitors for the tour, welcomed by the project’s 33-year-old founder Masami Charlotte Lavault. Once you’re inside the Belleville cemetery just outside Télégraph metro station the the 20th arrondissement, follow the cobblestones back and to the right where you’ll see the small green door in the stone wall that leads to the Plein Air flower farm. The Bob Baker Marionette Theater is one of California’s hidden gems that has been entertaining both kids and adults with vintage puppets since 1963.Last month after reading an article in the French press about an organic flower farm hidden behind Belleville cemetery, I signed up for a visit to check it out. Bob Baker Marionette TheaterĪ puppet show is our definition of fun in L.A. No visit is complete without catching a show at one of the most interesting movie theaters in L.A. Not much of a secret in Los Angeles, the TCL Chinese Theatre is one of the largest IMAX auditoriums in the world. Built around an already existing house, this hidden place in Los Angeles is both strange and aesthetically pleasing-just ask the neighbors. ![]() The Frank Gehry Residence is arguably one of the most head-spinning works the architect has created. The Bubble House was created by inflating a giant balloon, covering it with spray concrete, and finally, deflating the balloon- iconic architecture in L.A. Architect Wallace Niff is the mastermind behind the only remaining Airform house in the United States.
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