The city of Bourges in central France is famous for its UNESCO-listed cathedral and medieval city centre. But the capital of the Berry region has another historic asset: its marshes, a labyrinth of vegetable gardens. Located a few minutes from the city centre, the people of Bourges have enthusiastically maintained them for more than a century. This small corner of paradise is now attracting more and more city dwellers looking for peace and quiet. FRANCE 24 takes you to discover this unique but fragile ecosystem.
Tag Archives: Gardening
Shakespeare & Company: Author Rebecca Solnit On Her Book ‘Orwell’s Roses’
Views: The English Garden Magazine – February 2022
Health & Nature Books: “The Well-Gardened Mind” By Sue Stuart-Smith (2020)
‘The Well-Gardened Mind’ provides a new perspective on the power of gardening to change people’s lives. Here, Sue Stuart-Smith investigates the many ways in which mind and garden can interact and explores how the process of tending a plot can be a way of sustaining an innermost self.
A distinguished psychiatrist and avid gardener offers an inspiring and consoling work about the healing effects of gardening and its ability to decrease stress and foster mental well-being in our everyday lives.
The garden is often seen as a refuge, a place to forget worldly cares, removed from the “real” life that lies outside. But when we get our hands in the earth we connect with the cycle of life in nature through which destruction and decay are followed by regrowth and renewal. Gardening is one of the quintessential nurturing activities and yet we understand so little about it.
Stuart-Smith’s own love of gardening developed as she studied to become a psychoanalytic psychotherapist. From her grandfather’s return from World War I to Freud’s obsession with flowers to case histories with her own patients to progressive gardening programs in such places as Rikers Island prison in New York City, Stuart-Smith weaves thoughtful yet powerful examples to argue that gardening is much more important to our cognition than we think. Recent research is showing how green nature has direct antidepressant effects on humans. Essential and pragmatic, The Well-Gardened Mind is a book for gardeners and the perfect read for people seeking healthier mental lives.
New Architecture Books: “The Gardens Of Eden” By Gestalten (April 2020)
Step into innovative little gardens of Eden created on small terraces and city rooftops, as well as out in the suburbs and countryside.
As our lifestyles become more sustainable, so does the way we interact with the outdoors. Today’s gardeners aim not only to create decorative outside spaces but also to give something back. No matter what size your patch is, it’s easy to create diverse and rich environments for plants and insects, or grow your own vegetables or fruits. This book presents spaces that are more imaginative, diverse, and sustainable. Learn how to grow food in the city, get creative with native plants, and design 
greener corners within urban areas. The Gardens of Eden looks at fascinating examples around the world, teaching what you can do for nature while revealing what a garden can do for you.
Abbye Churchill was the editorial director of Wilder Quarterly, and her first book, A Wilder Life, was featured in The New York Times Book Review. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, Vogue, Food & Wine, and W. She lives in Brooklyn, New York City.
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