Don't the French know how to protest?
It's an irritation if you are trying to cross the channel or use the French railways but there's no denying, if the French want or need to make a statement and get themselves heard, they don't beat about the bush.
French horticulturists and farmers have set up a vast exhibition of their wares along the full stretch of the Champs-Elysees in Paris; the two day event was paid for by private investors at a cost of £3.6million to draw attention to falling prices and rising costs as well as remind those who live in the cities that real life revolves around nature and the countryside.
Over seven hundred mature trees and 150,000 plants were brought in to turn one of the busiest Paris streets into a tranquil park and at the end of today, the road will return to its normal hustle and bustle.
British gardeners and landscapers are disenfranchised. The HTA's lost the plot, the landscaping associations are working for the good of a chosen few, established trade publications are either feathering their own nests or cosying up to any organisation that can help it do so - the Chelsea Flower Show cannot be further removed from every day landscaping and horticulture if they tried.
I know we gardeners and landscapers are passive by nature but I think it's about time we had an uprising and showed the British people, British media and all of the above mentioned that we are a bloody skilful lot and pissed off [sorry for swearing, you know I don't like bad language] being treated like second rate citizens and we deserve to be recognised!
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