"What you call nerium over there, is it oleander?" Asks Audren, 35, who is looking for something to green the terrace of his garden level. " Yes quite. It is also the Latin name for laurel, ”replies Magalie Thomas, the head of the Flower Market department, watering perennials. It is 9:45 am, Saturday July 4, in the aisles of the Truffaut store in Châtenay-Malabry, in the Hauts-de-Seine. The store of 7000 square meters has just opened its doors and the building, while transparent, comes to life little by little.
Two children play hide and seek between the young olive trees exposed to the open air of the nursery. Mickaël Magron, the manager of this strategic space, cuts the blue needles of a superb white pine imported from Japan while giving advice to Aurélie, a 19-year-old student who came with her grandmother and father to buy a bamboo for the courtyard of his building. A few alleys away, regulars load nearly 150 leek plants in their cart!
Nestled in lush greenery on the edge of the Vallée-aux-Loups departmental park, a stone's throw from Chateaubriand's house, Le Truffaut de Châtenay is an excellent observation post for the new French craze for gardening. "We are a little halfway between the city and the countryside", summarizes the director, Vincent Ledour, 41 years old, of which 20 spent in this brand, the favorite of the French in gardening, according to a study by Ernst & Young Parthenon February 2018.
“As a result, we have both urban customers, who live in apartments and look for flowers for their balconies or aromatic plants for their terraces, as well as quasi-pros, who have large spaces and require more specific products. Like Olivier, whose cart is overflowing. Three hibiscus, one eucalyptus, St. John's wort, sage, 300 liters of potting soil ... The receipt for this 53-year-old accountant from Clamart (Hauts-de-Seine) is 332 euros. “I have a plot of 800 square meters that I decided to beautify. I come from a family of gardeners, I have always bathed in it and I like it ”, enthuses this bachelor, joining the truck and the trailer on board the car on board of which there are also two palm trees and an orange tree .
Reopening of garden centers during confinement
Back in Vincent Ledour's office, adjoining the store. Arrived in October 2019, the director barely had time to unpack his boxes that he had to manage the coronavirus crisis. From March 16, the store is completely closed, the majority of the 60 employees are put on partial unemployment. But at the beginning of April, the government considers that vegetable plants, seeds and seeds are essential products and announces the reopening of garden centers.
In Châtenay-Malabry, as in the 67 Truffaut stores in France, there is a rush. Locked at home for four weeks, deprived of parks, lacking in fresh air and greenery, the French rush into what is then one of the few shops open. “For them, coming here was like a walk or a breath of fresh air. They told us that it felt good and that we missed them, ”recalls Mickaël Magron, who never sold lavender as much as at that time.
Despite the restriction rules - initially no more than 40 people in the store, wearing a mandatory mask, only one user per cart - customers can queue up to 1:40 to buy perennials, shrubs, bulbs…
The star products: those of the vegetable patch
The star products of containment? Those of the vegetable garden, of course, with, at the top of the basket, tomatoes and aromatic plants - basil, thyme, mint ... -, as well as fruit trees, such as mulberries or raspberries. But also all that relates to the outside arrangement: tables, barbecues, deckchairs, hammocks… According to Julie Declerck, head of group of the House and Seasonal universes, “even if it means having to stay at home, people wanted to equip themselves to be as comfortable as possible. Especially since many have said that they will not go on vacation, or less. "
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Today, the crisis has passed and the store has resumed more normal activity. Some sanitary measures remain from this period, such as wearing a mandatory mask or Plexiglas protections at the crates. Undoubtedly also remains this new attraction for the land and all that grows there. According to a survey conducted by the online nursery Promesse de fleurs, in May, 40% of those questioned believe that they will spend more time in the garden in the future.
According to Pascal Griot, the owner of the website, "something really happened. The urge to garden has exploded. The movement is so strong that it should last. ” Vincent Ledour confirms. "Containment has had an accelerating effect, but we have been seeing this phenomenon for a few years now, with the vegetable patch in mind," he explains. People, especially city dwellers, express a need to reconnect with nature. They want to enjoy their outdoors, however small it may be. The consideration of the ecological imperative and the organic wave have also gone through this. What's healthier - and more economical! - in fact than eating fruits or vegetables that you have grown yourself?
All ages
It is now mid-afternoon at Truffaut de Châtenay-Malabry. The 400-space car park is three-quarters full. In the outdoor nursery, bumblebees collect lavender. Under the glass greenhouses of the main building, a seller carries a metal cart filled with pink cosmos, yellow gazania, orange purslane and other seasonal flowers. Hélène, 45, wanders between the gleaming barbecues exposed to the Seasonal department. "I don't really have a green thumb," smiles this laboratory technician, comparing the metal brushes to clean her brazier. I come here often, but not so much for the plants, after all. Rather for accessories, or creative hobbies. "
In the alleys where the stridulations, recorded, crickets resound, we also meet plant enthusiasts. Lots of retirees, but also - surprise! - some young people. This is the case of Quentin and Tiffany, both in their twenties, tattooed with the look of "metalheads", which one would not have imagined to be passionate about calatheas and philodendrons. "The garden reserved for old people is a cliché," laughs Tiffany, Dr. Martens with his feet and a black mask in tune with the rest of his outfit. This self-entrepreneur on the Web discovered this passion a few months ago. With his lover, they now own 40 plants in their Parisian apartment of 42 square meters, without any exterior.
“It's all a learning process. I look for information on specialized sites, and take inspiration from YouTube channels like A flower among flowers or Planterina, an American. I do tests, tests, "says Tiffany. Is it an isolated case, a rare species? "Not at all," replies Quentin, while observing pitcher plants and Venus flytrap - carnivorous plants. More and more of our friends are turning to nature. There is fed up with concrete, we need this contact with the earth. As soon as we can, we will go to the suburbs to get our piece of land, ”says the representative of this new generation of gardeners.
But there are even younger! Marcel, 5, came this Saturday with Monica, his mother, and Zoé, his 2-year-old sister, to find a gift for a boyfriend's birthday. The boy knows the corners of the store well.
"We have a plot of almost 300 square meters, estimates his mother, and the children are always outside. It is essential for us that they have this link with plants, insects… ”Marcel nods. "I like to garden. I have a shovel and a rake. I water the tomatoes and potatoes, ”proudly adds the aspiring grower. The succession is assured.