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

We left a barn somewhere here - Update # 37

13 June 2016

...and now it's lost in the long grass. Oh well. Perhaps when archaeologists are finished finding ancient cities at Angkor Wat, they could use their airborne laser scanning technology to help us find it again.

In the foreground is the stone terrace with its flowering plants

Gaura on the right, lavender centre, rosemary to the left; they seem to have survived the winter OK!

The walnut is leafing up nicely...

John has been to tidy up the garden, and perhaps it would've been prudent to get him round there a few weeks back. He spent hours slashing and hacking and blade-trimming the long grass and then had to go around with the strimmer.





After all that effort, this is the clearing he managed to create in La Fromagerie's rampant growth:

The grape vine leading down to the hazelnut with its quince graft...

The road is just to the right, believe it or not!

The péripherique of plants that we planted is doing well :)

Perhaps our romantic notion of a 'meadow' is unrealistic, given the rate of growth in spring and early summer, but we will see what it's like through one full year of seasons, and then make a decision.

In the meantime, we've asked John to go back in the next few days and finish the task of tidying up.

Son C and girlfriend will be there very soon!