Summer seems to go on forever in this park cum square. This lawned garden space, Jardin de la Folie, is just around the corner from home. During the day workers take their lunchbreak here, especially during the summer months. With the briskness of the spring light, the evergreen foliage begins to get energized anew, adding to the allure that makes this place so attractive. It’s a pretty and also useful space, there’s no doubt. And sometimes we get a chance to see films outdoors in this garden too. During August a massive free-to-view cinema screen is put up.
The word ‘folie’ is worth a short explanation. The ‘folie’ in this case is probably in reference to the tiny size of the garden’s biodiverse space which contains a lillypond and herb garden. And folie translates to ‘mad’. So on the face of it, the garden’s biodiverse space is so compact that some people may think ‘they were mad to bother putting it in’.
Yet the same could be said about the installation of an outdoor cinema, if it’s there for just one week in August. But there are qualities which, no matter how small or temporary, the outdoor cinema and the biodiverse space bring to the neighbourhood: joy and wellbeing.
On Rue Chanzy, alongside it, there’s La chocolaterie by famous French chef Cyril Lignac. It’s right next to Jardin de la Folie (Titon), so why not buy whatever takes your fancy before heading over to the wonderful Jardin de la Folie.
