When Georges-Eugène Haussmann began his renovations of Paris in 1853, the effect on her residents was immediate. However, nothing impacted the public more than the explosion of light and flowers created by the new public squares and parks.
Inspired by his time spent in London during exile, Napoleon III wanted the green spaces being developed to be in the free flowing, English style as opposed to the more formal 18th Century garden mode. And he wanted an abundance of them. Haussmann wrote in his memoirs that the Emperor instructed him: “Do not miss an opportunity to build, in all the arrondissements of Paris, the greatest possible number of squares, in order to offer the Parisians, as they have done in London, places for relaxation and recreation for all the families and all the children, rich and poor.”
Hausman’s goal was to have a park or square within a ten minute walk of any family. Consequently, he planted six hundred thousand trees and added nearly five thousand acres of parks and green space to Paris over the course of seventeen years (1852-1870) . Nothing like it had ever been done before.
The public was understandably thrilled with the results. Picnics and outdoor concerts became favorite pastimes. And the bourgeois class discovered that promenading was a wonderful way to show off one’s wealth. Meanwhile, the visual feast of color and light within these beautiful new spaces was irresistible to the many artists of Paris. Up until then, most painting had been done indoors. Now, painters became fascinated by the the way light played off the trees and flowers, and the Impressionist movement was born.
The residents of Paris’s suburbs were also inspired by the new flora. The formal garden style prevalent prior to the Revolution had not been focused on flowers. In fact, flower beds had rarely even been included. Now the public had been exposed to hundreds of colorful, new species. And they wanted gardens of their own.
The enthusiasm for flowers and gardening hit Paris like a tsunami. Horticulture publications and seed catalogues abounded, and eager fleuristes pursued their hobby with vigor. One thing they craved was knowledge about plant species. They attended horticulture lectures, and frequented local nurseries specializing in hybridization and the importation of exotic blooms.
Those with money to invest in their gardens also went crazy for tools and accessories. They bought watering cans and shears, gloves and spades. Some even built greenhouses. This spurred ambitious inventors to design every sort of gardening gadget, including the “Umbrella Picker” pictured at the top of this post, and the Insect Tongs pictured below, used “to seize from a distance, nests of caterpillars, slugs, reptiles, etc., and, in general, all objects that are too far away or that one does not want to touch with the hand.”
Critics chided enthusiasts for taking things too far. But they were not dissuaded. By 1860, the French journalist Eugène Chapus would write: “One of the pronounced characteristics of our Parisian society is that . . . everyone in the middle class wants to have his little house with trees, roses, and dahlias, his big or little garden, his rural piece of the good life.”
Who could argue with that?