Les fleurs de la rue

I'm back from my month in France where as usual I found lots of fantastic, unpredictable things to photograph. So first of all, eat your hearts out all you upmarket and trendy florists! These flower arrangements lining the streets of a small village near Carcassone created the most spectacularly gorgeous installation.

The village of Fanjeaux was having its Fete weekend - dances, communal meals and a vide grenier (flea market) - and the fete committee went to extreme lengths to get the village decorated.

All shapes of large plastic containers were cut down to create 'vases' which were filled with flowers from peoples' allotments, gardens and the hedgerows. Could anything be more simple and perfect?

The centuries old market / communal hall in the village square was set up for the lunchtime meal with flowers on every table stuffed in cut up plastic bottles. It looked fantastic - and I couldn't help muse on what people pay the wedding organizers to decorate their marquees with hot-house flowers!

On the square just outside the market hall, as they always do at these events, a bar was set up where you can get a coffee or a beer with huge upended barrels to serve as bar tables.

I really, really love the way they use random mis-matching bits of old furniture for these things.  I think the table top is an old door - how great does it look with a coat of someone's left over gloss white?

Who needs cut-glass crystal I say! 

The texture and colour of old walls and timber, faded paint, render or stone, make a perfect foil for the vibrancy of the flowers

Chinese paper lanterns! Yes! Cheap, simple and beautiful and...............

.....with the same colour palette as the flowers

I know I've posted a lot of images, but YOU try editing this cache of photographs!

I was lucky to arrive before they started laying up or I would have missed this exquisite photo-op.

' Tres bien fait' a la comite de la fete de Fanjeaux!

More French snaps coming soon.