Cover image: Jardin Ella Fitzgerald signage
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Last weekend, Paris celebrated the 25th edition of the Fête des jardins et de l'agriculture urbaine - the Garden and Urban Agriculture Festival.  

To mark the occasion, Tom and I set out for the 19th arrondissement to visit one of the city's newest green spaces - the Jardin Ella Fitzgerald (Ella Fitzgerald Garden). 

We were delighted to learn that the garden is located at 12-14, rue Ella Fitzgerald - a street bordering the Canal de l'Ourcq that was baptized in Fitzgerald's honor in 2009.  The nearest public transportation stop to the garden is also named after Fitzgerald.  It is on Tram line 3b, one stop from the Porte de la Villette tram stop (3b) and metro station (Line 7).

Tram stop Ella Fitzgerald - signage
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Residents of the neighborhood began cultivating this space in May 2021.  Over the summer, these amateur gardeners planted over 21 species of vegetables and flowers in approximately one-third of the space allocated for the garden.  On Saturday, September 25, they invited the public for the official inauguration.

Inauguration flier
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We were warmly welcomed by the group and had the run of the space as two of the first visitors of the day. 

Entrance to garden
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Jardin Ella Fitzgerald - Image of Ella and signage
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Cultivated garden
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Uncultivated land
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Hugues, one of the gardeners was busily watering plants when we arrived.

Hugues tending to the garden
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Another gardener proudly showed us several of the vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers that the group is successfully growing in this urban space.

Capucine
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White eggplant
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Borage
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Hyssops
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Ram's horn
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Purple basil
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The gardeners harvested the fruits of their labor and prepared a spread for visitors to enjoy. In addition to providing raw vegetables such as tomatoes, green beans, peppers, and radishes, they prepared pickled vegetables and a pesto made from plantain leaves (which grow wild in the uncultivated space) that everyone agreed was delicious.

Mélanie with plantain plant
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Harvested vegetables
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Pickled ram's horn
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Our hosts graciously posed for a group photo before we left them for the day.

Members of the Potager21 garden association
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Find Jardin Ella Fitzgerald on Facebook (in French) here: https://www.facebook.com/jardinellafitzgerald/.