Walking in the workaday neighborhood of Part Dieu on a trip to Lyon recently, on my way to the famous Les Halles food markets, I was struck by a tableaux that I had to stop and photograph.
Due to construction, the few trees demurely lining this old building, standing on tip-toe against the walls on the edge of an entirely paved and fenced-in courtyard, were temporarily subjected to yet another layer of restraints, a system of screened scaffolding covering the whole facade and screening them in. Or out, however you choose to perceive it.
The play of sun and shadow on the screen, along with the stark shadow of the ornate iron fencing on the ground, made a lovely composition, but I was horrified for the plants, boxed into their shadowy space. Maybe it’s for their own protection, or is it for ours? I took the risk and put my hands and camera through the fence to bring you these photographs.
urban plant research 
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