Snowdrops & Daffodils – Perce-neiges & Jonquilles

A very late happy new year for 2022! I’ve been in Boston visiting my beautiful 5-month old grandson for the last two weeks and as you can see from the second photo, the view of my son’s back garden taken just after the recent blizzard, is very different from mine. It may be colder in …

And then there was hail – Et puis la grêle est arrivée

Our unseasonable weather continues. Our gardening was brought to a halt by the rain and as soon as we got inside it started hailing. Fortunately it was only very small and didn’t last long. All my baby plants seem to have survived. Notre météo étrange continue. La pluie a mis fin à notre jardinage et …

Arum Envy – Les arums de la voisine

My neighbour’s arum lilies are always earlier and more spectacular than mine but this year, with most vegetation more than two weeks behind, hers are even more impressive. Mine have only just come out of the ground. Les arum de ma voisine sont toujours plus précoce et plus beaux que les miens mais cette année …

Tall & Purple – Grand & Violet

This iris is growing in the little wood at the back of our property. It’s exceptionally tall, no doubt because it needs to compete with all the trees around it. Today is the last of the ice saints and it’s been raining most of the day. Rain is sadly predicted for the next 8 days …

Gardening In Comfort – Jardiner debout

This is the first year I’ve had raised beds in the vegetable garden and I love them! So comfortable to be able to plant standing up. So far no slugs either. The neighbours on the left have planted laurel hedges which will steal a lot of the light and sun on the beds we have …

Late Clematis – Clématite tardive

After the black frost many of our spring flowers are blooming late. I thought this clematis would never open. Last weekend in lockdown. New rules will apply on Monday starting with no restriction on travelling within France. Après la gelée noire beaucoup de nos fleurs de printemps sont en retard. J’ai pensé que cette clématite …

The Judas Tree – L’arbre de Judée

I took this photo in the car through the windscreen but the amazing effect of these flowering trees whose scientific name is Cercis silliquastrum was not to be missed. There is a myth that Judas Iscariot hanged himself from a tree of this species but it could also be a corruption of the French arbre …