Mid April

Early morning watering

A prolonged dry spell coupled with new plantings means we have to start using our watering system again.  Christina had the fun job of checking each small spray and sprinkler to remove any miniature snails that had taken up residence and blocked the outlets!

I've already planted out some Geum and Verbena rigida which I grew from seed last autumn and they seem to have established themselves in the warm soil.  We also have a few tomatoes in containers, soon to be joined by some Italian bell peppers which came up recently.  Other than that we have no plans - or space - for veg this year.

Other seeds which are hardening off now include Rudbeckia hirta, Cosmos sulphureus, Phlomis tuberosa, Nicotiana alata and a Penstemon with dark foliage... looking at all the greenery, I realise we're in need of much more foliage contrast.

Cotinus coggygria coming into leaf

One of the best shrubs for this purpose is the smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria) which can grow to about 3m if left to its own devices.  Ours is part of a border along the neighbouring driveway so we keep it firmly in check otherwise it would turn into a tree in no time.

It's currently producing wonderful wine-coloured foliage, which complements our neighbour's roses in his potager. It benefits from being sited in an open position so you can enjoy sunlight coming through its leaves at the start or the end of the day.

For colour that vibrates in the sun you can't beat a combination of purple iris and the giant Euphorbia characias with its sulphur yellow flowers.  (I photographed these in our friend Ruth's garden earlier this week.)

Whilst on a bike ride locally, we passed another 'purple patch' of dark iris outside a distillery which produces our local spirit known as "Pineau".  It comes in white or red - the drink that is - and is rather on the sweet side but delicious when drunk as a chilled aperitif.

A Charentais alambic

Much as we love those ubiquitous French iris, it's a plant which really needs to have its own dedicated bed in full sun, preferably with poor soil, otherwise it calls for much labour-intensive weeding and regular division to ensure that the rhizomes flower well.  (In our experience, the richer and damper your soil, the more snails will come and visit!)

This advice refers to the classic "bearded" type of iris and not necessarily to other varieties which may flower earlier or later in the year.

Shrub of the Month

Viburnum opulus

I think this accolade must go to our old friend Viburnum opulus or 'Boule de neige' - the snowball tree - whose blooms are so perfectly white and spherical that one can overlook their lack of scent.  

The fresh shoots are, however, a magnet for blackfly and I was hoping our resident great tits would clean them off whilst collecting food for hatchlings.  But I so dislike the look of these black shoots, crawling with equally voracious ants, that I eventually reached for the secateurs and gave them a snip.

Aphids generally infest only part of a shrub - particularly roses - and I sometimes just rub them out with my fingers, but it does no great damage to cut off the offending tips and give them an early prune.

Eleagnus ebbingei

Back in October I nominated our newly-planted Eleagnus hedge as Shrub of the Month because it provided such wonderful scent late in the year.  I couldn't get a decent photo at the time but it has since provided us with a profusion of egg-shaped orange fruits, as well as clusters of young silvery leaves - which make for a very attractive hedge, ideal for our windy seaside location.

Whilst thinking of popular shrubs to recommend each month, I've also become aware that some people manage to live in blissful ignorance of which plants are to be considered 'weeds', to be be pulled up at the first opportunity... so here begins a new section for Weed of the Week.

Cleavers (Galium aparine) 

Called Goosegrass or 'Cleavers' because of its habit of sticking to everything, this is often found growing through hedges and poking out untidily at the top.  You can easily pull a piece off in passing but of course it will just carry on growing unless you can wrench out its horrible yellow root - and dispose of it carefully, not in your compost bin where it might just re-grow!

Pulmonaria officinalis

There's sometimes a fine line between weeds and wild flowers, a few of which might be worth having in your garden if you are looking for a more naturalistic planting.  Pulmonaria or 'lungwort' is definitely one of these and this is a photo taken on our woodland walk recently.  You can get more interesting cultivars like 'Sissinghurst', with white flowers, if you want it as a front-of-border plant.

Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum

Another member of the borage family which we found in the wild is the clunky-sounding Purple Gromwell, which has flourished in a shady woodland area along with a silver-striped deadnettle.  Its blue-pink flowers are not dissimilar to those of the Pulmonaria and it spreads itself slowly by means of creeping shoots, without becoming invasive.

Herb container

Sunnier days mean we can start picking fresh herbs again and chives are growing particularly well after being chopped down six weeks ago when they were looking very pallid.  Tarragon is also coming back to life and we keep cutting off large plumes of fennel which is romping away in a flower bed, threatening to take over an entire corner.

Lastly, a swallowtail is the latest butterfly to visit, attracted by the bright flowers of Knautia macedonia - a type of scabious.  

It's a great pleasure just to sit and observe the interaction between plants and wildlife at this busy time of year... as well as trying to photograph it of course!

The former potager re-designed for plants and herbs

April's Promise

Our valley and the Gironde Estuary

In spite of a mild winter, many birds were slow to arrive in March and we had to wait until April to hear the first cuckoo and admire the first swallows swooping over our valley.  Since then, it's been a constant procession of new arrivals: the exotic hoopoes with their three-note calls; the rather irritating wryneck (a small woodpecker) and most recently the incomparable nightingales, who fill the air with their liquid song but are almost impossible to see now that trees are in leaf.

La rainette (Hyla arborea)

Meanwhile in our garden the tree frogs are in full voice, croaking loudly to one another when not basking in the sunshine.

They seem to enjoy gardens and human company... several times I've found one gently sleeping inside a rose or an iris, looking rather jewel-like with their strange golden eyes.

It's noticeable how many of the flowers in bloom right now are either white or blue/mauve, with aubretia and honesty being particularly attractive to butterflies.

Large White

We allow the honesty to seed itself quite freely where it fills in some of those awkward shady areas under trees and hedges. 

They produce mauve flowers which are particularly intense in colour and eventually you get disc-shaped seedheads which help to scatter the plant in winter.

Lunaria annua

Orange Tip butterfly on aubretia

Another early visitor which flutters around the garden regularly is the Orange Tip butterfly, which is prettily marked in white and orange with a totally different camouflage pattern on its underwing.

Other butterflies visible now are the Wall and Speckled Wood - both brown with spots and fond of sunbathing.  (Who can blame them??)

Early morning light

Although it's still a bit cool to eat breakfast outside, we like to be up in time to enjoy that wonderful golden light which floods our back garden as the sun comes up over the hill.  

Flowers are illuminated against dark shadows, adding drama to photos and saturating colours to a point where they almost look unreal.  A magical moment.

Wallflowers are especially bright and I'd recommend growing a Persian Carpet mix from seed in late summer, so you can plant them out whilst it's still warm and let them bulk up over winter.

Cheiranthus 'Persian Carpet'

We also left a few in containers so that we can move them around our seating areas to provide some instant colour.  Their velvety flowers are complemented by a rich scent and although the colours are vivid they never seem to clash.

A Walk on the Wild Side

As soon as our weather started warming up about a week ago we took an evening stroll through nearby woodland and were surprised by the variety of wildflowers scattered across the sandy soil and leaf-litter.

Stichwort (Stellaria holostea)

Starry flowers of Greater Stichwort are reminscent of British woods and verges, as are clumps of Solomon's Seal, Bugle, Herb Robert, Speedwell, Sweet Violet and Celandine.

Apart from firs, these woods are home to broadleaved trees such as hornbeam, oak and cherry, providing a rich humus for small perennials.

An English carpet of Scilla non-scripta

We even came across a clearing of bluebells which is quite unusual this far south.  They were akin to the delicate English variety rather than those butch Spaniards, Scilla campanulata, which can be found in gardens around here.
Alas there weren't enough to produce that intense blue haze associated with British woods!

On the other side of the road from this attractive woodland is an even sandier area full of mysterious and eye-catching asphodels.

According to Greek mythology, this was a meadow lily of the underworld and people used to plant them beside graves so that the aromatic roots would nourish the dead as their souls departed.  No wonder it looks rather ghostly and other-worldly at dusk... 

Asphodelus albus in a forest clearing

Out of Hibernation

Couscous having a Spring Clean

Finally, almost 10 days of sunshine and blue skies - enough for a bit of lazing in the garden, as well as lots of cleaning up and preparation for a new season of holidaymakers.  Pressure-washing the front terrace isn't something we do every year, thank goodness, but it certainly repays a few hours of robotic swiping dressed in wellies and old jeans... the result is positively blinding!

All these tasks are made easier by some fine weather and the chance of a tan while you work.  Our cat has taken to going out a lot more often and has reached an age where he's quite content to loll in the sun, taking just a passing interest in life around the birdtable.

Unfortunately he's still no better when it comes to not scratching up areas of bare earth for his toilet...  whereas some people suffer from slugs and snails, we have Couscous to contend with!

The spaces between our new lavender plants were undeniably tempting so we've used two barrier methods which were to hand: firstly, some driftwood twigs (vaguely artistic) and then the rusty remains of shelves from the greenhouse staging.  Neither of these is too unsightly and they'll soon have served their purpose.

Chionodoxa sardensis

When it comes to early bulbs to light up dark corners, I find snowdrops are hard to establish in our garden; perhaps our soil lacks sufficient humus, or maybe the climate is too hot...?

In any event, I planted these little bulbs called Chionodoxa a few years ago and have grown quite fond of their mauve, slightly crystalline, flowers which show up well against the dark earth.  And they're tough enough to withstand some of the hailstorms we've had recently.

Primula veris

Talking of weather (just for a change) all that winter rain has helped to nurture some beautiful banks of cowslips.  We took a bike ride recently and had to keep stopping to admire the profusion of flowers.

Until I took this close-up photo I hadn't appreciated how their trumpets are so like miniature daffodils, with a hint of orange inside.

After a few days of sun, the lawns are full of daisies and our neighbour Robert called me over to admire his spectacular specimen and photograph it for posterity!

Mutant daisy - not Photoshopped! 

I'd just finished resizing the pictures for this blog when we were both struck down by a nasty dose of Asian flu... it came from Thailand and was impervious to the flu vaccine we'd had in the autumn, laying us out for the best part of three weeks.  So I'm now resuming this March blog in the second week of April, having just about caught up with life in the garden.

"Things come and go so quickly here..."

I can't remember where this quote originated but we often repeat it to ourselves in wonder at those times when our landscape seems to change on a daily basis.  (Yes, it's Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz"!)

Viburnum burkwoodii

The Viburnum I photographed last month has completely gone over and our hillsides are now studded with the creamy flowers of its cousin, the Guelder rose.

Pretty though it is, I decided to nominate another plant as Shrub of the Month..

Mahonia aquifolium (Oregon Grape)

This Mahonia was something we

 planted as part of a 'green-gold' hedgerow under our tall ash tree.  Like the yellow leaved Euonymous japonicus

planted beside it, Mahonia is evergreen and its glossy leaves help to enliven a shady corner, especially with the occasional red tints which appear in late winter.

Its yellow flowers are quite long-lasting and provide a honey-scented attraction to early bees.  It grows well on chalk and a light prune will keep it in shape - I also like to snip off the bunches of blue "grapes" which appear after flowering.

Before being attacked by the dreaded flu virus, we helped our friend Ruth prepare her raised beds for sowing potatoes and peas.

She gardens on a steep slope and also likes to grow tomatoes but found it difficult to water them properly... hence the terrace of raised-beds and an irrigation system set up by Christina.

Our water is metered in France and, now that coastal properties are all on mains drainage, we find our bills have soared.  Many people with access to wells have fitted pumps so that they can draw free water for their gardens.  Hot summers mean that fruit and veg all need regular watering and the easiest way to do that is by using a hose system with small sprays, turned on in early morning or evening.

Horses enjoying the March sunshine

Lake District

Storm-tossed willows and poplars

Yes this winter monsoon is still upon us thanks to the Jet Stream being well and truly stuck. Pools of water which collected in rain-sodden fields have joined forces to create lakes in low-lying areas, some of them just outside towns.  There's a large market garden near here which has been half-submerged for a fortnight, its greenhouses incongruously marooned like glass islands in a blue ocean.

Free-range chickens after a rainstorm

On the plus-side, it's been a great season for willows and their golden stems sprout vividly against the grey skies of a passing storm.  

Now is the perfect time to plant a willow hedge along your perimeter (ensuring it's the statutory 50 cm inside your boundary) - simply push some off-cuts into the moist soil and watch them take root!

Pussy willow and hazel catkins

Fluffy Hedgerows

Catkins have been unfurling on many of the waterside trees and also on nut bushes like hazel,  soon to produce those lovely noisettes which French patissiers put to such good use!

Whereas we refer to these flowers as 'catkins', they are known as chatons or 'kittens' in French!

Storm Damage

There's no denying this is a difficult environment for trees, even if they are willows and able to absorb a huge amount of water.  The earth has been sodden for so long that another gale could well uproot some of the taller specimens.

Woodland trees in this part of France seem much more etiolated than comparable trees in England, doubtless due to the hotter and drier climate. They shoot up elegantly thin - unlike their more robust counterparts in the UK - collecting masses of ivy and mistletoe over the years which eventually lead to their downfall.

Beach at Meschers-sur-Gironde

Tons of driftwood has been washed up along the Gironde Estuary after recent winter storms.  Some pieces are more than four meters long but there are also many heavy trunks which could easily sink a small boat!

A couple of weeks ago, we found the bodies of five puffins washed ashore on this beach after a particularly strong gale.  They don't normally come this far south but we read that over 600 had been found on our shores, weakened by bad weather and lack of food.

So-called "Stinking Hellebore"

Garden colour

Mauve-striped crocus

Our drifts of hellebores continue to withstand the ravages of wind and rain. Christmas hellebores are now joined by the taller Helleborus foetidus, with its acid green flowers and sharply toothed leaves - weird but interesting!

Whenever it's sunny, bright clumps of crocus open up greedily to absorb heat on their stamens. Some varieties seem to come back more readily than others and one of the best we've found so far is a plump Dutch hybrid "Pickwick", which also stands up well to bad weather.   

Campanula lactiflora

Elsewhere the important ground-cover plants are producing carpets and cushions of greenery in an effort to clothe the soil and prevent any competition from weeds.

Whilst the campanula on the left can be a bit too invasive, it's easy enough to pull up unwanted plants whilst the earth is moist to stop them getting out of hand. This one flowers in early May and there are varieties in blue, pink and white - which form large clusters of open bells.

Campanula poscharskayana

I'm even more partial to the rockery version of Campanula which is great for edging and filling in crevices.  Again there are several varieties in shades of blue, white and mauve, forming neat little mounds which soon make a carpet if left to multiply, withstanding poor soil and arid conditions.  They're also easy to root

from offcuts at the moment.

Recently planted olive

Back on the subject of trees, I should emphasise to newcomers that the wind on these coasts (and even inland) can blow up in a matter of seconds, ripping off roof tiles and causing structural damage.  We've all been caught out at one time or another and even garden centres can be thrown into turmoil if their plants aren't firmly secured.

This particularly applies to saplings and young trees, as we just found out with this olive tree.  A thin bamboo stake is not enough!  Use a stout post set at an angle and secured with a proper tree-tie.

Shrub of the Month - February

In flower for the whole of February has been our superb Daphne odora with its clusters of pink and white blooms. 

Daphne odora charming the birds

These scent the back garden - and sometimes the kitchen too when we bring a few sprigs indoors.

It's evergreen and undemanding, keeping a compact shape without much pruning.  Ours has been growing in partial shade for about seven years and is now about 4' tall and wide, flowering reliably on every stem.

(Equally fine for scent and form is Daphne burkwoodii which flowers a bit later in spring.)

This month's blog is dedicated to our good friend Aurelien Hemono
"The Man Who Loved Trees"

Waterworld

Poplars along a flooded stream

Rain has certainly been a feature of this winter so far...!  We thought it was bad in December but the second half of January has seen an endless scattering of showers and much more prolonged rain, with occasional heavy cloudbursts of hail.  It's not a good idea to work on saturated ground, even though weeds continue to rampage between the emerging bulbs, and now other plants are coming into leaf thanks to the mild temperatures.

Helleborus niger

Current interest...

A joyfully reliable perennial at this time of year is the Christmas Rose, which has seeded itself in damper parts of the garden and produces flowers in various mottled shades of pink and cream - with just a hint of green.  

Using a digital camera with a flexible viewfinder is a great way to enjoy these rather downward-facing blooms which are otherwise awkward to photograph.

We have a large spread of hellebores in a shady area under the barn wall where the lack of guttering means they get battered by rain running off the roof.  Being such robust creatures, they rarely suffer from more than the odd splash of mud - and even that can be avoided if you spread some bark mulch around them.  (Nor do they seem to mind if you remove the largest leaves once they start to go brown.)

Occasional spells of warm sunshine have brought out some crocus in the south-facing garden, encouraging them to open their petals and bask in the strong light.  They provide a splash of gold in an area where the yellow winter jasmine held sway for several weeks but has now faded and mostly dropped its starry little florets.

Bringing the outside in

Something else which has bloomed for weeks now is the window trough containing three cyclamens.  The dark pink one on the far left (not shown here) has only just come into flower, so that should keep the display going for a while longer. 

I have to say these plants seem to do much better in the open air, where they can be admired on the other side of the sitting room window, with wooden shutters closed over them at night to offer a bit of protection against cold showers.  They get watered about once a week and are mulched with gravel to stop their lower leaves and stems from rotting - a problem which seems to occur more readily when they are kept indoors.

Hippeastrum hybrida

On the other hand, if you want an exciting plant for the living room - one to amaze and amuse you over the festive season - then look no further than the Hippeastrum from South America (more commonly sold as 'Amaryllis' in a department store near you).

They are so statuesque with their in-your-face trumpets and with stems so rigid they could almost be forged from steel... fabulous to photograph in all stages of development.

These days you may get more than one stem from each bulb and the flowers last for a couple of weeks, making them really good value.  It's not worth trying to keep the bulb for another year, so just start again with a different colour (they're all fab!) and, unlike lilies, they're not heavily scented and won't drop pollen over your furniture

For something more traditional, and with a scent which really can fill your room, plant up some hyacinths a few weeks before Christmas. 

I don't know if it's just my imagination but the blue-flowered ones seem to be more pungent than the others.  We usually let the foliage die down naturally in a dry corner of the shed before re-planting them in the garden.

Again, I'm not sure if I'm 'mis-remembering' which colour I planted in our front border but they have all come back as a deep red-mauve instead of blue, which might have something to do with the soil but, in any event, matches the tulips which often appear at the same time.  A case of serendipity...

Walking across the sodden landscape on a grey day, when there is little to divert your attention from the puddles ahead, I am suddenly transfixed by the sight of silvery, spidery lichens enhancing a hedgerow like forgotten Christmas decorations.

Similarly the mosses, engorged as they are with rain, appear more vividly green than at any other time of the year.  I want to pick some and take it home to make a nest for the indoor hyacinths, but somehow I sense it will never look as natural and fresh as it does outside, clothing the lower branches of a shrub.

Mother Nature knows just how to enliven a dull day with some unexpected piece of country decor!

Being able to photograph these tangled thickets of vegetation in low light, in order to admire them later on a screen, provides a useful exercise in close observation - something you do naturally as a child, when you're nearer the ground and everything seems new and extraordinary, but tend to ignore in later life when you're busy getting from A to B and trying to keep the rain off!

Shrub of the Month - January

Viburnum bodnantense "Dawn"

This viburnum is fairly mature now and attracts its own share of lichen as it's planted in an exposed area on the garden boundary.

It's been covered in blooms all through January and they are sweetly scented, a bit like vanilla.

These viburnums are not particularly fast-growing and don't need much pruning - just a tidy-up now and then - which makes them very easy to look after.  They enjoy chalky soil and will reward you with long-lasting flowers in pink and white clusters.

Fine weather for ducks...