It is now a
really busy time for us gardeners in Brevands, and one of the annual big jobs
is weed killing. Spring brings them all out at once and in a vengeance and no
matter how green or natures pal you want to be there is no
substitute for a good brusque and dominant session. We do this together with a
bumper weed killer tank holding 37 litres, I push and Mike sprays so I can
supervise as to where to, and not to spray. In the past Mike has wondered off
with 17 litres strapped on his back and without my supervision has unknowingly
sprayed newly planted plants and trees, and then they die…… so on the big annual
step out, we go together.
There is a charming tradition
here in France that on 1st May friends and neighbours exchange a
sprig of muguet to show their love and commitment to each other, (it is a lady
thing). This year however in Normandy,
there was none ready to pick from our gardens after the chilly start to the
year. There were Muguet sprigs to be bought in the shops, no doubt brought up
from the south but the tradition is that you grow it yourself and at 6 euro a
sprig in the shops I can see why you would want to grow your own. I chatted to Geneviève
about the cost of a sprig and that mine had not flowered yet and she went off
in a tirade about the cold weather and the greedy south taking advantage, so
she knew she wasn’t going to get any this year. However on the 10th
of May I found two pots of Muguet in flower at the back of my nursery and a
little row in the front garden. I am now going to hedge my bets and pot all the
bulbs I can dig up when they are finished and nurture them in the poly over
winter and be a clever clogs with home
grown muguet on 1st May 2017.
Our little
front garden has become a place of control after years of neglect and
confusion. At the last barn roof mend in 2012 I put down a membrane and covered
it with broken slate. The japonica tree has now really settled and is centre
stage. My sister Mim bought this tree for Mike in 2003 for his birthday and it
lived in a pot for years and travelled
to France with us and we are very pleased it is happy if not a little lop
sided. HOSS has made this his spot when we go out so he is near to the gate for
his welcoming duties.
The blossom
around the pond has once again been a fabulous spectacle and I found Peaches
the duck taking a fragrant if a little decadent path in petals, but you only
have to blink on a breezy evening and the blossom is gone and not to be seen
again until next year. We did take the time to sit and look and with the big
willow gone this year we have had a great spectacle this year.
All of my garden
vegetables are now planted out and the season has begun. Here we have
sunflowers and runner beans on the go so it is now just a matter of watering
and weeding and watching. The pressure is off and we will soon start harvesting,
I picked a bowl of poly tunnel strawberries yesterday and very nice they were
too.
I mentioned
that we had the very old and leaky barn roof dealt with in 2012. Mike was never
very satisfied with the result as he thought a tin roof would have been cheaper
in the long run but went with public opinion that you had to go slate. We had the
entire roof retiled using second hand and our own recycled tiles. At the time
it felt wholesome and we had trodden inside our green footprint thinking it
would last, but it didn’t. Last year
whilst on the Bon Coin Mike found a man selling a bulk amount of tin sheets and
he bought enough to redo the roof as he always wanted it. Well that is all well
and good but how do you do this job on your own. We waited and waited and
planned and replanned using options of nifty lift hire, helicopter drops with
SAS soldiers roping in friends too afraid to look at a ladder and then we
started to give up. A by chance meeting with Jacob, and the man who can, came
and Mike had an ally who has good experience of building tin roofs and is good to go for a few days at
a time to get this long laid plan and requirement on the way.
By day
three we are this advanced, using our precious scaffolding, Jacobs’s skills
and Mikes dare devil no fear of heights approach. We are now in stop mode for
us to recover and will set off again at the end of next week .
There are
tons of fallen slate to deal with and I am picking through to make sure all the
nails are collected up to protect HOSS’s delicate paws. Today I cleared up to
the garage and when Mike moves the scaffolding later in the week I can get the
rest shifted into the garden. We are storing it all in one place so that later
we can be more creative about where it goes. What a fantastic resource at my
finger tips and I do not want to waist the opportunity of using it wisely.
And finally
a little glimpse of the clear sheets mike and Jacob have installed bathing the
dark barn with new light, and this is only the beginning as we are putting two more
on the other side…..Brilliant !
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