The dazzling white of the southern façade of Château de Cheverny is due to the use of Bourré tufa stone which comes from the village of Bourrée in Loire et Cher, and has the particularity of getting white and harder as it gets older. La blancheur éclatante de la façade sud du château de Cheverny est …
Author Archives: avril
Monument to tufa – Monument au tuffeau
This monument to tufa, the iconic stone of the Loire Valley, was erected by the owner of a stone quarry in Turquant on the Loire River and shows the tools used by the workers, or perreyeux, to quarry and work the stone. Until the beginning of the 20th century, using picks, wedges and mallets, they worked …
Zeelandia Broom – Genêt ornemental
This lovely plant with its glorious colours is an ornamental broom that appears to be called Cytisus x praecox Zeelandia. Cette belle plante aux couleurs magnifiques est un genêt ornemental que je pense est un Cytisus x praecox Zeelandia.
Wisteria and Royal Blue – Glycine et bleu roi
This is the beautiful royal gate on the purple and turquoise house on the Loire. Ce beau portail bleu roi est celui de la maison violette et turquoise en face de la Loire.
Clematis on a Wall – Clématite sur un mur
Another magnificent clematis, this time a Clematis montana on a wall in our street in Les Grouets. Une autre clématite, cette fois-ci une clématite montana sur un mur dans notre rue aux Grouets.
Vienne at Sunset – Vienne au coucher de soleil
The light at we drove from Les Gouets towards the centre of the Blois today at sunset was most unusual. This photo, with Gabiel Bridge on the right and Vienne across the other side of the Loire, was taken from the esplanade. The photo below shows the flat-bottomed boats on the left of the photo …
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Lilac from our steps – Lilas depuis notre perron
Lilac is the next to bloom after wisteria. We don’t have a lavendar lilac bush at Closerie Falaiseau, only a white one, but we can see this one from our front steps. Le lilas fleurit tout de suite après la glycine. Nous n’avons pas de lilas mauve chez nous à Closerie Falaiseau seulement un lilas …
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First Lilies of the Valley – Premier muguet
Our first lilies of the valley are out, amazingly early because they traditionally bloom for Labour Day on 1st May. Nos premiers muguets sont sortis, ce qui est vraiment très tôt car ils fleurissent traditionnellement le 1er mai.
Wisteria, purple and turquoise – Glycine, violette et turquoise
I have already published a photo of this house, but on an overcast day. I think the wisteria looks splendid with the lilac and turquoise windows, balconies and fence, against a bright blue sky. J’ai déjà publié une photo de cette maison, mais il ne faisait pas très beau . Je trouve que la glycine …
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The House with Many Arches – La Maison à beaucoup d'arcs
This house, seen from afar, has an intriguing number of windows and arches. The mixture of styles is impressive! Cette maison, aperçue de loin, a un nombre intrigant de fenêtres et d’arcs. Le mélange de styles est impressionnant !