enjoy now, blog later

Its been a lovely week!

extreme weeding

I've been a keen gardener for many years but have never aimed at the weed-free, pristine, straight lined suburban garden. There will always be some weeds in any garden of mine, some even look lovely - a weed is only a plant in the "wrong" place after all. I have some favourites which are due to feature in a post of their own.

Today though it was extreme weeding - sort of like clearing a jungle to reveal the undergrowth. Recent warm weather and plenty of rain has meant that a)I haven't been out weeding and b) the weeds have grown luxuriantly.

So I spent a vigorous morning  with the mattaock clearing out buttercups, nettles, goosegrass and other unidentified invaders from my shrubbery and shady garden - quite therapeutic really.

Whole areas of the garden were rediscovered and we now have one very full compost bin.

I still have to tackle the bed behind the archway - another mostly shady area - but that's another day - maybe tomorrow

long lunch

Today's lunch guests, our friends Edwige and Alain, arrived at 11am and left at 6pm - certainly a long lunch even by French standards. It was a good way to spend a day though, especially as the weather took a dive today and decided to remind us it isn't quite summer yet.

As well as eating there was much music and singing,  planning and practising for a "scene ouverte" at Molieres on Friday evening .

My brain hurts after talking French all day!

house rules

We don't have many house rules but one we agree on is that if one of us wants to go out and the other wants to stay in - we go out, lots of time for staying in when you have to and that's always the easy option. Same goes for an after dinner walk in the evening - if one of us suggests it then out we go.

Tonight I didn't need much persuading. It was a lovely warm evening and I had been sat down all afternoon at patchwork.

As we set off we were amused to see that the team who cut the verges today were obviously flower lovers - every patch of dog daisies had been mown around.


We saw some nice orchids too

Lizards orchids will flower later

 Glad we made good use of the fine evening as the weather forecast for the rest of the week is horrible. Just hoping it will return to fine next week for our next visitors.

'tis the season

The summer season is under way - May means lots of bank holidays here and everyone gets into the holiday mode. Every village around seems to have a brocante /vide grenier or a plant fair advertised. 

Still looking for my orange rose

Today we spent most of the day doing tour of a few local ones - with just one diversion to the memorial at the site of a refugee and  internment camp at Septfonds which we had heard about but never visited.

we even saw some friends-
Chantal and Elodie at Caylus

A day spent looking at other peoples rubbish with plants thrown in - couldn't be better.

Spending today was well under control - just a couple of old pots for the garden, a glass jar, a jug for my collection and a couple of pepper plants - under 20 euros the lot - some of us are easily pleased!

Interesting memorial to the refugee /internment camp at Septfonds

barbecue English style - they had been warned

We did warn our friends that being English we don't let a little thing like the weather put us off a barbecue once it's planned.

Today was still cool and breezy but at least it was dry and the summer kitchen was sheltered from the wind.

Our friends arrived well wrapped up - we were in t-shirts and cardigans - Corrine was wearing trousers, boots, jumper and coat. Eric and Trevor had had their planned music practice and afterwards we had our barbecue. We put our indoor gas heater next to Corrine while we ate and she was happy. Very reminiscent of  evenings at 82 with the gas patio heater.

It was a great evening  - and not an umbrella in sight ( call that an English barbecue?)

all change

A sudden change in the weather today to cold, wet and windy.

After a light night/early morning following 4 hours of dancing last night a day pottering about indoors, doing a bit of sewing is not unwelcome. Even better is knowing  the garden is being watered for me and the water butts, which were all bone dry, are filling nicely.

Just hope the sun returns tomorrow as we have friends coming over for a barbecue - we have warned them that being English it can happen in the rain!










We have at least got a nice new tablecloth and seat cushions for the summer kitchen after my work today

that's not supposed to happen

I got wet trousers in Villefranche market this morning and not because of rain. The fountain clock in the square hadn't been disabled - presumably someone enjoying their bank holiday today hadn't though it through! Water was squirting up under stalls, between stalls.




It amused me that , in true French fashion,everyone carried on as if nothing was happening - but no doubt it had been happening every 15mins all morning!

early summer

The last week has seen the start of proper summer - temperatures in the high 20s and the water in the pool is at 24 already ( last year TC didn't have his first swim until 16th May). We are spending afternoons taking it easy and swimming after getting overheated in the garden in the mornings and we have been sitting out late most evenings - not a bad life!

irises

This is always the first to flower

Irises grow well here, they thrive in the hot stony alkaline soil and grow in every garden hereabouts as well as in the hedgerows. Their flowering season is long too as the different varieties flower at slightly different times.

One from Maggie's garden at the forge

A beautiful blue one brought here from
Pavillon - our house at Bruniquel

They are flamboyant dressers with an air of celebration about them  - definitely announcing the start of summer

There are lots in my garden too. Some were here when we came - they have been split and  moved around.

I have also added new varieties

I managed to finish the patchwork stained glass panel in time for in to be on the wall in the right season too!

jardin aux fleurs

Before we came  to live in France my mother did her best to dissuade us from moving. Often she would point out how much I would miss my garden in England, my reply was  " I have another garden in me".

It's getting to be a reality !

When a French person tells you they do gardening they mean they grow vegetables, their jardin is the potager, sometimes they will add that they grow some roses too. A garden of shrubs and flowers is referred to as a "jardin Anglais". I need it all - must be because I'm an Anglaise!

On our first Christmas here we met  Catherine Smedley, an artist and keen gardener who has, behind her gallery, one of the prettiest gardens in the area. She gave me a christmas present of some packets of annual flower seeds she had saved. I converted an area of my new garden to become a flower garden and it still features annuals grown from seeds collected from the offspring of those first seeds.

work in progress

the area when we moved in

the wooden path

The first year the flower garden was a refuge from the devastation
caused by installing the pool - hence the mountain in the background

Unfortunately the lovely wooden
path has rotted and had to be
covered with bark this year

Every Spring I grow hundred of seedlings
in the greenhouse and this year was no
exception

There are more perennials and bulbs as well now - just to extend
the season

Now the frosts are behind us and the rain has stopped for a bit I have been busy this week planting out the tiny plants. All finished yesterday - now all I have to do is wait for the sunshine to do the rest.













This little corner of the garden is one of my favourite places - I love it in the early Spring because it's where the garden work/play gets under way and later in the summer the seat catches the last rays of sun in the garden and is a perfect spot to admire the flowers in all their glory against the backdrop of the house and reflecting on "aici sen pla"

June 2014

all too familiar

Its just like the old days all of a sudden.................

Waking up after voting day to the realisation that, despite hope against hope,  the stupid British voting system together with the even more stupid  and selfish electorate have done it again! Even when Labour did win we ended up with Blair - a man who disgraced the ideals of a socialist party.

How glad am I to be living in another country and too busy to watch TV or listen to the radio!

official summertime

Yes it's official - TC has had his first swim and the window boxes now have the geraniums in place of the winter pansies.

A few more days of sunshine warming the water and I'll be in too. It's hot work planting stuff!