Damp Days

"None can have a healthy love for flowers

unless he loves the wild ones" - Forbes Watson

A garden opening onto the marais

All this wet weather is certainly good for one thing: blossom! Blackthorn in particular seems to have outdone itself this year and the salt marshes are bounded by many hedgerows such as this one. (It makes up for the sad fact that other field hedges have been ripped out by local farmers seeking to maximise their yields.)

Pussy willow or Salix

Willows have also provided a host of catkins this spring and out on the marais we passed this beautiful "sallow" tree which, unusually, was not part of a hedgerow.

Sallows have fluffy catkins, or flowers, that are held almost erect rather than drooping down; these are the pussy willows which are often used to decorate churches on Palm Sunday.

Spring arrivals

Birdwatching along the estuary

At this time of year, the Gironde Estuary is a good source of birdlife as there's a mixture of habitats along its banks and no shortage of water!

In the past ten days, we've seen both hoopoes and swallows arrive on our shores whilst we were busy chasing elusive penduline tits (see my last post).

A well-earned rest!

We usually record the first swallow in mid- March but this one was photographed on the 21st, which might indicate they were a bit late arriving. On the other hand, we might simply have missed the early birds... Christina acts as chief 'spotter' striding out in front, whilst I bring up the rear with my camera, often trying to focus on a moving target. 

Celastrina argiolus

On a brighter morning, we spied another harbinger of spring - a blue butterfly which I think is the Holly Blue, even though it was soaking up sun on a bay leaf. 

Whilst holly is quite a rarity down here, bay trees are ubiquitous: very tough and fast growing, they are best avoided in the garden. (Their small, culinary cousin is absolutely fine however.)

This butterfly was spotted on the edge of some woodland which borders a vineyard and provides another fertile habitat for birds and insects.

Sloes (blackthorn) blossoming at the woodland edge

Meanwhile, back in our garden we've enjoyed watching the first blossoms on our small peach tree unfurl their petals.

Prunus persica

We grew this from a stone a couple of years ago and, much as I love most types of Prunus, I wasn't particularly keen to plant this one in our garden. This is mainly due to the fact that it needs spraying now in order to prevent unsightly leaf-curl later on.

Christina, however, is not so squeamish when it comes to wielding the Bordeaux mix (copper sulphate) which is what our neighbours seem to use, and she gave the tree a couple of preventative sprays on those rare days when the wind wasn't blowing. 

Colour after the crocuses have gone...

Chionodoxa forbesii "Pink Giant"

This pretty little bulb produces starry pink-to-lavender flowers which are reminiscent of a hyacinth, with similar fleshy leaves.

It originally came from the mountains of western Turkey and there are varieties from other areas with bright blue flowers which would also be worth having. They bloom early in the year and soon get covered by plants such as forget-me-not, so foliage die-down is not a problem.

Tulipa turkestanica

Another exquisite early bulb is this tiny tulip with multiple heads and arched stems which gives it the appearance of a lily. 

Once those petals open, however, it turns into an attention-grabbing star with a distinctly sunny disposition! Planted last autumn, these clumps already seem well-established.

T. turkestanica opening to sun

These species tulips come from Central Asia and I love the fact that they look wild  and combine happily with other delicate plants, perhaps grown around the base of a fruit tree or in a rock garden.

Like most bulbs, they need good drainage and plenty of sun, so avoid putting them in areas which will require heavy watering in summer. 

Other species worth having are Tulipa praestans (scarlet, flowering April) and Tulipa clusiana with grassy foliage (pink, streaked white, also flowering in April).

Although primroses are traditionally pale yellow when found in the wild, and we have several clumps planted under hedges, I deliberately grew some blue primulas from seed just to introduce another colour into the spring border.

These have been flowering for at least a couple of weeks now (in places where the birds haven't nibbled their buds!) and their petals seem to change from blue to violet depending on the light.

Before and After

 

Back garden in 2003 

Delving into the archive once more, this is a view looking towards our neighbour's driveway and fields beyond.  At the time of moving here we inherited a couple of buddleias and some mop-head hydrangeas which have long since gone, replaced by viburnum, daphne, deutzia - and some rather more subtle forms of hydrangea.

Bigger borders and less lawn in March 2015

Yes, a lot has changed in twelve years and - being so English - we've certainly packed in a multitude of herbaceous plants!

Chalk cliffs surrounded by reed beds on the estuary

  

Small is Beautiful

"Nobody sees a flower really, it is so small.  We haven't time, and to see takes time - like to have a friend takes time." - Georgia O'Keeffe

Salt marsh on the Gironde Estuary

Some things, like the estuary with its tidal streams and brackish lakes, are simply too big at this time of year, and prone to overflowing.  Later this March we face the prospect of an unusually high spring tide which might even reach into our garden... un vrai catastrophe for the plants, few of which would be salt-tolerant.

Penduline Tit

That said, the reed beds of the marais do a good job of soaking up excess water and are beautiful to admire on a sunny day when you can look down on them from one of the nearby chalk cliffs.

Amazingly, in all the time we've been watching shore birds, we've never managed to glimpse a marsh tit; but this week we did come across a lively family of penduline tits (Remiz pendulinus) darting around an area of scrub bordering the reedbeds. Tiny and beautifully marked, they're fairly rare visitors who over-winter in certain parts of southern Europe.

Slender Speedwell (Veronica filiformis)
with a Rough Hawk's Beard 

Meanwhile, on the ground, wild flowers are starting to emerge from dormancy and this fetching combination of sky-blue speedwell and sunny yellow hawk's beard (Crepis biennis) is a common theme in the vineyards.

After so much rain, we've finally had ten days of dry, windy weather which has shaken some of the mud off the hedgerows.

When it comes to our own hedges, Christina is very particular about tidying up the space beneath them, taking out weeds and leaving space for a few early flowers such as primroses. To give them a bit more light, she snips off any messy lower branches of hedging - in this case Viburnum tinus, which is also underplanted with miniature daffs and edged with the ever-reliable Campanula poscharskyana.

You can also see evidence of our watering system running at the back of these plants - it certainly aids the establishment of new hedges as they get their roots down.

Mimosa (Acacia dealbata)
- an ephemeral beauty!

During those cold wet days of early spring it's uplifting to have some indoor bulbs, in order to savour the very moment when their tight buds unfurl into waxy colour, unsullied by any mud-spatter or animal munchings!

And it's great when a friend turns up for lunch bearing a fresh swag of mimosa which releases its haunting almondy fragrance as soon as you remove the cellophane from its blossoms. 

We adored it for two whole days before our central heating started to wizen its tiny puffballs and its perfume gradually faded into nostalgia.

Shrub of the Month

Loved for its foliage as much as its blooms

Mahonia aquifolium

This is the low-growing spreading form of 'Oregan Grape' which is worth having for its leaves alone. It provides contrast to other evergreens by putting on a show of glossy foliage in late February to March, followed by clusters of yellow flowers which attract bees and other insects.

Fresh leaves on Mahonia aquifolium

I really enjoy watching new leaves emerge on this shrub and the range of hues is more akin to autumn than spring, useful for adding to cut flowers in a vase.

We also have the taller Mahonia japonica, with less impressive foliage but giving us beautiful sprays of scented flowers in the middle of winter. Both versions need careful clipping and pruning to keep them looking their best but otherwise are easy to maintain.

Wicked Weeds and other Pests

Shepherd's Purse
(Capsella bursa-pastoris)

Regular readers will know I'm paranoid where weeds are concerned. Let's face it, their main aim in life is to take over your garden, by various means of stealth and deceit, and we have to get them before they get us!

No one is more cunning than this delicate plant that insinuates itself wherever there is enough nitrogen in the soil... pretty much everywhere in our garden. It then abuses your hospitality by firing out seeds in spring-loaded capsules, trying to catch you in the eye just as you're leaning over to yank it out.

My advice is: Grab it now - before its innocent little flowers have a chance to to form!

Caterpillars of the
Pine Processionary Moth

Although weeds might drive you nuts, they tend not to affect your health in other ways; whereas the caterpillars on the left, having emerged from their web-like nest on a warm day, pose a very real threat to pets who could ingest and choke on their irritating hairs. Humans, too, can suffer allergic reactions to touching them.

Many of our neighbours have these moth nests clearly visible in their pine trees yet seem to do nothing about them. Luckily, there's plenty of information on the internet about how to get rid of this pest.

On a happier note, Christina had a moment of real triumph yesterday whilst engaged in the rather unenviable - but necessary - task of turning the compost heap.

Halfway down she unearthed her favourite weeding fork which had probably lain there for the past six months, feared lost forever, with its nice wooden handle now showing signs of having been nibbled by a rodent.

The day before she found a 'diamond' ring in the road whilst sweeping up some rubbish... who says the righteous don't get their just reward in this world?? 

Crocus amongst Cerinthe leaves

Amongst the small gems of our springtime garden, we have to celebrate the clusters of crocus which have multiplied in sunny spots where the originals were planted years ago.

They look delicious on a damp day, when speckled with rain or dew, petals folded protectively over their downy stamens. Their leaves are discreet but clearly striped to mark them out from other bulbs.

Then, when the sun finally deigns to shine again, whoosh... up they come to savour the light, greedy with desire, their translucent stems transmitting energy like filaments.

It's a flower that punches above its weight in the garden and seems to encapuslate our own deep-seated longing for sunshine and heat.

Last year we planted several of the Dutch 'striped' hybrids at the front of our new raised bed and they look particularly effective against a carpet of oyster shells.

'Pickwick' crocus flowering in the herb bed