Saturday June 15, the Cascaris de Bégoux club inaugurated the landscape garden and offered a conference on “The history of Lot strawberries”. The mayor of Cahors Jean-Luc Marx came in person to inaugurate the landscape garden. The ceremony was opened to the strains of the Suliko trio from the Grand Cahors music conservatory.
On behalf of the Cascaris, Bernard Migairou thanked the mayor for his presence and outlined the history of this garden which has gradually been invented over the last ten years.
Winner of the citizen project
The notion of landscape garden is fundamental and reflects the anchoring in the plant and human environment of the place. The garden is rich in varied themes and makes room for crops that have marked the rural past of Bégoux, notably strawberries. Winner of the citizen project of the city of Cahors, the garden became Agora-Jardin des sens in 2022, with the aim of being a meeting place and multiple activities accessible to all. Adaptation to climate change is a concern. This project would not have been possible without the solidarity of CLAB (liaison committee of Bégoux associations) and the support of a large network including Cahors Juin Jardins, Plantes et Cie and the CFA (apprentice training center). de Gramat (to be consulted on Facebook: AGora Begoux Cahors).
Jean-Luc Marx underlined the municipality’s desire to strengthen social ties through citizen projects. He then symbolically cut the ribbon giving access to the garden. A guided tour of the Agora-Jardin des sens followed with a friendly drink highlighting the flavor of strawberries.
Strawberry cultivation, a whole story
Proposed as part of the “Plants and company” meetings led by Martine Bergues, ethnologist at the Lot departmental council, a conference retraced “The history of the Lot strawberry”. It was given by Claire Morel, anthropologist, with the participation of Laurent Miquel, historian. Claire completed a master’s degree in gastronomy, wines, cultures and societies in Cahors.
A photographic exhibition and harvesting equipment completed this presentation which brought together more than forty people. From the end of the 19th century to the 1950s, this culture marked the rural economy but also the social life of the valley. The railway was an essential factor. Nothing would have been possible without the recruitment of “milling machines”, young seasonal workers essential to the harvest. They have marked the imagination of this territory and often created a legacy. An episode rich in humanity from local life.
Furthermore, note Saturday July 6 in Miers (convent of Fieux), a walk, screening and round table on the revival of lavender in the Lot.
To find out more: https://musees.lot.fr/actualites/plantes-et-cie-la-programmation-2024
