Oo-oo-oh WIS-TE-RI-A
Getting the house ready for summer is a ton of fun. I say it every year but it is true, the house looks better each year. Remember when I planted … Continue reading
Pergolating Part Deux
Slowly but surely. This week we planted Silver Lace Vine on the uprights. I know, it’s one of those out of control plants, but considering the erratic weather we want … Continue reading
Pergolating, Part I
Here we go, part I. It’s up but there’s still a ton to do. You can see a pair of the new iron chairs. They look super designer and light … Continue reading
An 18th Century Walnut Sofa, Circa 1730; And other thoughts including on people who see Jesus on toast
It’s a very conservative estimate, but there’s a chance someone will end up with an outstanding piece of furniture for a very reasonable price. I still find it baffling that … Continue reading
Lights, Camera – Mazamet
Lights, lights, lights in the garden! Absolutely wonderful. There was one thing I missed terribly about Spain and that was the ambience at night. Particularly in the garden at Villa … Continue reading
Mazamet, March 7th, 2019
February in Mazamet has been like Spring. Lots of sun and beautifully mild temperatures hovering around 15 during the day, cooler nights. It’s been very enjoyable but of course something … Continue reading
June at number 42
Firstly, the garden. Above is what I’ve added to the garden in the past week. Today I’ve added 6 more astilbes (purpurkerze), 2 hostas (big daddy) and three lathyrus pink … Continue reading
Les Floriales 2018
This year’s Floriales (open air garden fair) is from the 27th to the 29th at the usual spot, the Jardin des Promenades. It’s definitely worth a visit, there’s a lot … Continue reading
Floridus and Herbidus but not Fruitidus (well, a little)
and I forgot to mention… there are teak chairs available from VidaXL (sold to most of Europe with free shipping) for just €60 each. They also make 2 and 3 … Continue reading
The Narrow House
Ms. Parker’s Narrow House. And… Here’s how to use a flamethrower on weeds: A decent flamethrower with a little cart for the gas bottle costs around €100. Filling a gas bottle … Continue reading
Glorious weather!
It’s an absolutely gorgeous day. Life is good! The garden is coming along very nicely. The Medici vases I had made arrived a few days ago. I put two by … Continue reading
First week of June at no. 42. The garden, the scullery and fish
The lilies are opening! Absolutely stunning. The weather’s been superb and so I’ve spent much time in the garden. Pruning, cleaning, weeding- and digging. And there’s been progress in … Continue reading
An Espalier of Citrus- and gardening in May
From the Italian spalliera (something to rest on). You take a tree and you train it flat. If done well it can look really extraordinary. Here’s an apple tree: Last year … Continue reading
Why do (some) online plant sellers lie through their teeth?
I’ve been looking for Indigoletta rose to buy and grow on the garage. It’s a rose with a very fine, delicate colour (see above.) Looking online, again and again, I … Continue reading
Rhododendron in flower
Isn’t that a wonderful colour? I think I’m going to get more of it. I spent the morning planting hostas under the camellias. When they arrived this morning I panicked. … Continue reading
This week at № 42
The tiles for the scullery have arrived. They’re by an Italian company called Marca Corona- from their new Terra collection. I’ve been sanding the cupboards which are going to be … Continue reading
Plans for the wall (and plant identification help!)
I’ve decided that I want to make the wall that’s behind the house a bit more interesting. Especially because that’s where the entrance door is. The planting is already great, … Continue reading
The kitchen garden + The Russians are coming!
The baby bok choy has come and been eaten. Excellent, easy crop. It only takes 30 to 45 days from seed to table. They’ve been replaced by a variety of … Continue reading
Blue skies, wisteria & other things
The wisteria looks glorious this year. I’ve planted euphorbia characias wulfenii at the base- and also liatris spicata. I think the ton-sur-ton effect will be amusing. Elsewhere in the garden … Continue reading
April at number 42
…I’ve been up a ladder cleaning the facade. Up a very tall ladder-and it was incredibly frightening. Between not falling off and holding the power-washer gun (big and heavy) with … Continue reading
Signs of Spring
It’s 17° and the sun is shining today. The forecast says that in a couple of weeks it’ll be around 20°. Then it’s practically March and if last year is anything to … Continue reading
Winter tomatoes and other green matters
I’ve stupidly been ignoring the greenhouse for the past couple of months. I just presumed cooler temperatures meant the season was over. So when I went to have a look … Continue reading
Of camellias and futures
The white camellias are now in full bloom and what a show it is (for a sense of scale, compare to the chair at the bottom right of the first … Continue reading
All I want for christmas is- not a back injury!
The heather (Erica darleyensis (x) ‘Kramer’s Rote) for the driveway border on the west wall arrived yesterday. 20 plants, 20 holes. It was all going so well until the last hole- … Continue reading
Another beautiful day. Gentleman of the camellias revisited
Today is winter solstice, the year’s shortest day. “The solstice is usually on 21 December, but comes a day later this year for the same reason we have leap years … Continue reading
Like Summer
If this is what autumn is like every year in this part of the world, we’ve chosen well. Today is a definite working in the garden day. There’s a whole … Continue reading
I Dream of Jeannie, Garden Version
Just merveilleux, really. Most of the work was done by yesterday afternoon. And before I knew it, it looked like this: I was planning a round wrought iron bench around … Continue reading
Landscaping at Number 42
The sprinkler system is in: Olivier has now finished removing all of the old lawn and he’s levelled the land. The border for the driveway is now in place, and the … Continue reading
The Garden, Part I
Work on the garden has begun. Yesterday Mike mowed the lawn as low as possible which wasn’t easy because of the irregularities of the land. Later today Olivier is coming … Continue reading
The Garden
So here’s a quick sketch of the garden, almost to scale (almost because the house is actually equidistant from the side walls, which means I drew the greenhouse too small.) We’re … Continue reading
If sculptures could speak
I hadn’t noticed how funny that composition was until I uploaded the photo to the computer. One can just hear her saying, “there he goes again taking pictures of himself.” … Continue reading
Terrace floors chosen and ordered
The choice was surprisingly easy. We wanted something that more-or-less matched the facade of the house, so it had to be grey-brown, and this was the only one that came … Continue reading
Coincidences that aren’t coincidences; The Mother of Hydrangeas
They’re just glorious. At the moment we’re mainly using the kitchen doors (which are open in the picture) and it’s lovely to see those flowers as we go in and out. … Continue reading
In Bloom + New People
I’m doing my best to restrain my urge to fiddle with the garden- well, I’m trying to learn everything I can about English style planting as quickly as I can … Continue reading
A Big Week
A lot going on. Work has begun on the future floating terrace. A bit over 30m2, so there’s enough room for outdoor seating and a dining table and chairs. It’s … Continue reading
Spring cleaning, figmares and the basket case
Okay, not actually scrubbing, I’m powerwashing. Starting with the steps and then moving on to the walls. In case you’re ever tempted to try the same thing, be advised that … Continue reading
Gentleman of the Camellias
That’s an array of camellia petals covering the ground in our new garden. Just extraordinary. Mazamet is known for Camellias, especially the variety known as the Japonica Mazamet of … Continue reading
Flowers Everywhere
When I first arrived I thought the garden was a mess, I’m used to more order- but I took a deep breath and decided to wait and see how … Continue reading
My Mazamet 
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