Our narcissus usually look a lot perkier than this but recent frost made the earliest bloomers keel over. Nos narcisses sont plus guillerets en temps normal mais le gel recent a fait tomber ceux qui ont fleuri en avance.
Category Archives: Closerie Falaiseau
This Year’s Daffodils – Les jonquilles de cette année
Every year around this time since 2014, with the exception of last year for some reason, I post a photo of the daffodils in our little wood. They are still mixed up with the snowdrops and will be with us for another three weeks or so. We can see them from the picture window in …
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Snowbound Tulips – Tulipes enneigées
I don’t know how these tulips will stand up to snow and frost. They seem to be coming up a bit early. This year. Je ne sais pas comment ces tulipes vont supporter la neige et le gel. Elles semblent être sorties un peu tôt cette année.
Saving the Barn – Sauvetage de la grange
The horizontal wooden beam is badly damaged in two places – behind the tree on the left and at the right corner so Jean Michel has prepared three iron reinforcements that will form an upside down U when in place. It’s all a bit tricky as the iron is a lot straighter than the timber …
Barn Repairs – Réparations de grange
One of our barns is in serious need of repairs. The roof needs retiling and unfortunately some of the beams are rotten after years covered in creeper. It’s going to be a long job. Une de nos granges est en bien mauvais état. Il faut refaire les tuiles du toit et malheureusement une partie de …
Christmas Roses – Roses de Noël
These are not roses of course, but hellebores, or Lenten roses, and bloom in winter. Last year the deer ate them so I’ve put them out of reach on my kitchen windowsill. When the temperature is below freezing point the flowers keel over but they perk up when they thaw. Ce ne sont pas des …
From Inside Out – Vue sur l’extérieur
The weather remains disappointingly cold and rainy but this afternoon we had an unexpected window of blue sky so went for one of our Covid walks. I took this from inside my office when we got back. The health minister announced tonight that curfew will be brought forward to 6 pm in the most affected …
Lockdown #2 Day 26 – Reconfinement Jour 26
One of the things that keeps us sane during lockdown is our fireplace. It makes the long evenings very cosy. Our house was built in 1584 according to the stone plaque above the mantel. L’une des choses qui nous aide à garder le moral pendant le confinement est notre cheminée. Notre maison fut construite en …
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Lockdown #2 Day 12 – Reconfinement Jour 12
The last time we went to Chateau de Chaumont gardens just before lockdown we bought two Salvia Amistads that I had seen on previous occasions. It’s the plant with the dark purple flowers at the top of the slope. The smaller plant with purple flowers in the foreground is shrubby Veronica or hebe but it …
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Lockdown #2 Day 6 – Reconfinement Jour 6
We have clay soil which makes this slope a challenge. We are in that period when there are still flowering perennials such as Japanese anemones that lose their leaves in winter while those that flower in winter such as Christmas roses (hellebore) are just starting to bloom. Last year the deer ate them all but …