This past weekend the small village we live in had their annual “Fetes de Plants.”  This is a grand event that many people in our village and the surrounding villages look forward to.  Well, with my love for plants, I too was excited to participate in this festival as well.

Bagnoles de l’Orne, France is a small village of approximately 2,500 people.  Since it is a tourist town, there are always a lot of activities going on during the tourist season.  The “Fetes de Plants” took place on Saturday and Sunday.  It truly warmed my heart to see a lot of families taking pleasure in the beautiful day while choosing plants for their home.

I went to the festival primarily to check it out and of course with the possibility of finding a plant to bring home.  It was fun watching as lots of people delighted in the beautiful flowers, trees and plants that were for sale.  There were also darling little angels, frogs, lambs and turtles on display as yard decor available to purchase.  As we were walking around, we came upon some beautiful roses.  Oh my goodness they were very pretty.  I found myself kneeling down so I could smell them.  They were wonderful.

As you can see, this is the plant that I took home with me!  It was a really fun and enjoyable afternoon.  I am grateful to live in this marvelous little town and to be living my dream in France.  I placed the rose bush where we could enjoy it from the dining area.  I sat down and just stared at my new roses.  While I sat there, I remembered the expression, “Take time to smell the roses.”

I genuinely hope that you and I will always take time to savor moments in our day, to slow down the pace in our lives and appreciate the small things that can give us great joy and pleasure, such as smelling a rose.

With much love,

Alice