"Give me odorous at sunrise...

30 May 2018

...a garden of beautiful flowers where I may walk undisturbed."

I'm with you there, Walt.

A few more images of la Fromagerie's delights, and evidence of friend C's hammock indolence.

Male walnut flowers overhang the rather wild meadow

Broom, planted last August :)

The figuier looks good

Rose #1 - 'looking a little lonely'

Rose #2 

Female walnut flowers lag behind the male flowers, and are just peeping from the leaves in this image...

Not easy to see, but take my word for it...

Table and chair in the 'best spot' for lunch

At first, the hammock was strung between apple tree #1 and #2. Then, feeling inspired, C strung it in a new spot - between apple #3 and walnut - and the photos taken while savouring the sloth clearly show the discrepancy in leaf canopy. The walnut is always slow to awaken in Spring, but makes up for lost time with a beautiful, cool (but deadly!) shade later on...

Le noyer

Apple #3

And now, some location shots: wild flowers and J-M's roses.

Chabrignacois

Simply gorgeous

Another gardening quote to finish:

"To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow."

In that case, Audrey, I'm a true believer.

How does our garden grow?

11 May 2018

OK, so not with silver bells or cockle shells, and with a notable absence of pretty maids, but rapidement, for sure.

A series of photos from John shows the burgeoning growth in recent weeks. They were taken in the interim between friend C's two visits featured in the last post...

Peeping glycine...and a grapevine up to her ankles in wild flowers

The meadow encroacheth...

All neat and tidy now

Our own little Sugar-Plum tree, growing valiantly in the garden of Shut-eye Town, yet still to bloom on the shore of Lollipop Sea ;)

The scrambling rose, lavender and glycine are all going great guns.

The hazelnut has been cut down to size and is now dwarfed by the pear/quince.

We've asked John to do a high cut of the meadow areas and hopefully, he'll manage this before the summer gets underway and growth slows up.

It's hard to believe that many of the perimeter plants have been in situ for five of six years now, and it's very rewarding to see their progress.

What a difference a month makes; 30 little days

9 May 2018

It's a rare treat to have a rich feast of images showing the garden, orchard and environs waking up to Spring. Friend C has stayed twice recently, in early April and again in early May, and has been out and about showing his customary enthusiasm for the bucolic.

As you scroll down through the photos below - the first four from his April visit, the rest more or less current - you'll see Spring's steady advance....

Bâche still pinned down and plum tree centre stage

The neighbour's old fig tree - still asleep

The grapevine appears skeletal, but the wild pear is in bloom

Location shot - the nearby Chabrignac château

My absolute favourite in this batch - peach blossom in foreground, Renault Clio in the background, new skylight also cunningly in shot...

The walnut just stirring...

...but wait - it's dripping with flowers!

Photinia in all its glory

It's safe to say that one man (with or without dog) did not recently go to mow the meadow 

So it's not entirely asleep, then

Location shot - les fleures sauvages sont partout