The Yellow Vineyard – Le vignoble jaune

After the Bordelaise mix on the vines earlier in the day, I was worried about why this vineyard was covered in yellow but it only turned out to be buttercups which seem to be everywhere this year. Après la bouillie bordelaise sur les vignes plus tôt dans la journée j’étais inquiète de voir ce vignoble tapis …

The Busy Garden – Le jardin peuplé

We cycled past this busy little garden on our way from Onzain to Veuves on Sunday. The windmill actually looks more like a pigeon house from the south of France. The second photo shows the house that belongs to the garden. Note the weathervane on the top of the roof on the left. Nous sommes …

La bouillie bordelaise

As we cycled towards this wall, I thought it was a painting until we got up close and I realised that the blue is due to bouillie bordelaise, a pesticide consisting of copper sulphate, slaked lime and water used to prevent mildew. Mildew was first observed in 1878 on grapevines in the south-west of France. …

Clematis in the Holly – Clématite dans le houx

The clematis had climbed 2/3 of the way up the holly before I realised what was going on – it was supported to grow on the wall of the garage on the right! But in fact its chosen path is much more exciting. The holly is also in flower which means we’ll have lots of …

Célestine Citroën

My friend Celestine Citroën came to visit yesterday with her master, Simon from Loire Valley Time Travel which offers private tours of the Loire Valley aboard Celestine and her sister Claudette. I thought she added some class to our quiet street. Ma copine Célestine Citroën est venue me rendre visite hier avec son maître Simon …