Our Winter Jasmine – Notre Jasmin d’hiver

When I posted a photo of our winter jasmine last year it was just recovering from severe pruning. This year it’s looking much better. Lorsque j’ai posté une photo de notre jasmin d’hiver l’année dernière il se remettait d’une taille très sévère. Cette année il a bien récupéré.

Snowdrops at last – Enfin les perce-neiges

I was beginning to wonder what had happened to the snowdrops but today when we were putting our bottles in the glass sorting bin halfway down our street we saw this great clump. Ours aren’t open yet. Je commençais à me demander où étaient passés les perce-neiges mais en mettant nos bouteilles dans le bac …

Happy Christmas- Joyeux Noël

My daughter and I went and collected foliage in the forest to make this wreath. We had difficulty finding holly with berries because of all the people who make a little extra money before Christmas selling it on the market. I hope you all have a very Christmas Ma fille et moi sommes allées chercher …

More Autumn Leaves – D'autres feuilles d'automne

I took this photo in the centre of Blois this morning when it was still very misty. The spire you can see on the left  is the church of Saint Vincent of Paul. J’ai pris cette photo dans le centre de Blois ce matin lorsqu’il y avait encore de la brume. La flèche à gauche est celle …

Flowers at the Ready – Des gerbes toute prêtes

In France,11th November commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.” A ceremony takes place in each town and flowers are placed on the war memorial. We were surprised …

The Wet Wart Plant – L'herbe aux verrues

In English, it’s not actually called a “wart plant” the way it is in French, although interestingly, it often has “wort” in its name. Chelidonium majus, commonly known as greater celandine or tetterwort, (although tetterwort also refers to Sanguinaria canadensis), nipplewort, or swallowwort, is a herbaceous perennial,native to Europe and western Asia and introduced widely in North America. Its toxic yellow-orange latex is used to get rid of warts – and I’ve …