The harvest this Tuesday afternoon was not the most flourishing. But among the plastic roses, thrown there by mistake, there is still something to do, in the large wooden bin. “You see, there for example it’s a chrysanthemum, says Franck, pointing to a small, stunted mound. Well, it no longer has beautiful flowers but underneath, it is still very green. If we cut off everything that isn’t pretty and replant it in the ground, it will grow again, that’s for sure! » For the past two weeks, the reintegration employee has been recovering numerous perennials of this species, stars of All Saints’ Day. It must be said that at the wheel of his branded van The Green Flea Markethe travels through three Nantes cemeteries, including the Cimetière-parc in Nantes-Nord, in search of undead plants.
After a test last year, the Nantes town hall renewed its partnership with this association, which installed a recovery bin in each of these sites. Inside, individuals are invited to place their faded plants, but also plastic planters, terracotta pots, or other plant pots, in good condition. “The objective is that all this does not end up in the trash,” explains Solène Mahé, co-founder of Brocante verte, which collects all kinds of plants from professionals and individuals to pamper them and then sell them at low prices. Because it’s often the easy solution for people who don’t know how to maintain it well, or who don’t have the time to worry about it. Yet, it’s alive!” Last year, 200 plants were saved thanks to this Solidarity Cemetery operation.
At the crematorium, cut flowers are also collected
In the paths of the Cemetery Park, people flock with arms full of cyclamen, heather, or bromeliads. Nadine chose an imposing red chrysanthemum for her sister. This woman has not visited for “at least six months” and expects to find completely withered plants on the grave. “I got into the habit of bringing the old pots home and throwing them away,” she says. It’s stupid, I know, but what do you want me to do with it? » According to a cemetery maintenance worker, many users leave them on site for many months, before they fly away or end up being put in the trash bins available. Which attracts a certain number of individuals who come, do their shopping. “We sometimes see intact flowers, which were thrown in the trash a few hours or a few days later, because of family conflicts,” he reports.
For the Green Brocante, this seasonal operation (which ends on November 15) aims above all to raise awareness among residents of the practice of reuse. But year-round, the partnership maintained with the cemetery greatly helps with the operation of the integration project, which employs six homeless people. “With the agreement of the families, we come to collect cut flowers from the crematorium once a week, which allows us to make bouquets, decorate certain restaurants with flowers, or keep them for our winter activity of dried arrangements,” says Solène Mahé. . The cemetery is also our largest source of terracotta pots, which we resell at reduced prices: every year, we leave here with an entire truck. »