I was out for a drive early last week in Deux-Sevres and noticed, as I pootled along, several very attractive and well-maintained potagers. All were of the conventional type - a large cultivated plot with long well-spaced lines of veggies with trodden earth paths every so often.
It occurred to me that I hadn’t seen any raised beds.
And so, my question. Are raised beds out of favour? I can appreciate that raised beds have some disadvantages in drought conditions, so is that a factor?
We lived in the Deux Sevres for over 12 years and I can’t ever remember seeing raised beds, all the French laid their veggies out in immaculate lines, often interspersed with flower rows. Maybe raised beds were/are regional?
You will find lasagna type raised beds all over among the contemporary gardeners, but tradition rules here. Raised beds may be generational, and more common with people who don’t have generations below them to help with the heavy work?
I’ve not seen many, and those I’ve seen belong to young people as Jane said. I’d love some but priorities, of time and money, seem to be elsewhere!
strikes me that if the soil is OK and the person tending it doesn’t have back/bending problems.. there’s no need to have raised beds 
France is a large country and cultivating (just like everything else) will reflect local conditions, habits etc.
If one has heavy, claggy soil they are useful as can drain better. Also in cold areas they warm up faster so add a bit of time to your growing season. However many people here do exactly what their Dad and Grandad did, so don’t think about alternatives.
Exactly… as I said, so much depends on the conditions…
and, of course, raised beds have a financial cost. Families will possibly be content with the status quo, when their finances are already stretched.
There’s an incredibly traditional couple in the village that we’ve been getting to know - a bit- through the dance group. Quite old and the chap has very rigid ideas (including some attitudes to foreigners 
and I can’t get him to acknowledge me at all)
So you can imagine how staggered I was to discover where they live and that they have the most amazing quantity/variety of vegetables plants in their (non-straight) flower beds amongst the flowers. Most successful implementation of that concept I’ve ever seen…
Do they garden by the moon? Several elderly neighbours (now dead) had wonderful mixed potagers and followed the lunar calendar strictly. We often found Colette out planting things in the rain or at night because it was the “right”lunar moment.
Our local farmers do too - then throw massive amounts of “agent orange” on their fallow fields.
With any luck, I shall see the wife this evening and will be able to ask her. Their garden really is stunning!
And what does she do with all this amazing variety? As I hardly ever see a vegetable on a French plate and when I do it’s a tiny mouthful I suspect it is ALL going into soups?
As it’s such a lovely garden it will be easy for you to praise it… and hopefully this will get back to the husband. Asking advice is another way of “breaking down barriers”
No idea @SuePJ . She’s got some lovely chard plants which, of course, can be very colourful. I could ask her that as well 
We have several raised beds and that is exactly the reason we have them. The soil in our garden is very good but with the raised bed, we can kneel and not have to bend our damaged backs.
We had 36 raised beds in our garden in the very rural village where we used to live. They were regarded with great suspicion at first, especially when piled with straw for potatoes. We also grew a weird, climbing, long and windy courgette style vegetable called Tromba. By the time we left there after 15 years, there were more than a few raised beds, plenty of potatoes under straw and tromba were weaving their way through hedges and trees sll over the place. The village seed-swap event was well supported!
And people hate immigrants but you proved we all have something to learn from other cultures, integration at its finest, you just cheered me up, thank you.
you’re joking
I would suggest that “people” ie locals (in whichever country) will have mixed reactions to newcomers from wherever.
Especially newcomers who perhaps “do things differently”.
I reckon some will regard with suspicion and some with interest and some with a bit of both…
On the other hand… here, in Dordogne, many locals view Parisians with deep suspicion, like creatures from another planet
I was trying to point out, somewhat badly, that immigration is a positive thing , pity so many people are now encouraged to think differently. Sorry if I came across as saying the opposite, Stella 
