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
Tomatoes and other green things
Starting the tomatoes early this year was a good idea. Some of the Russian ones are already at about an inch in diameter. I’ve been tidying up the greenhouse. The peonies … 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
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
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
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
Sushi attempt #2 & gardens
Less vegetarian this time around as it included prawns and caviar. I’d never had sushi with proper caviar before, it’s usually red roe, but I was bored so I decided … 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
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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