May flying visit

In the middle of May I came to France just for a few days, so that the garden didn't get too overgrown - and I also wanted to keep fertilising it. When I arrived I was really pleased to see how the geranium on the porch had burst into flower, and in the back garden the philadelphus was also covered in bloom, for the first time since it was planted about 8 or 9 years ago. I spent about three days working in the garden but didn't get round to posting any update here. Several areas needed work.


One of the "Desmond Tutu" roses was suffering really badly from rust - so much so that I had to remove almost all the foliage and just hope it would recover. Fortunately the rust had not spread to the other roses, though there was black spot on some.

The furniture in "Yvonne's corner" needed more protection, and I'd brought several bottles of teak oil from the UK (where it is MUCH cheaper than in France). Mike had sanded off some rough parts and applied the remainder of our teak oil in April - the bench seat and table have now had three coats of oil applied so should be well protected. The outdoor dining table has been covered this winter (though the cover wasn't a good fit, and has several holes where the wind has rubbed it against the table's corners). I tried to repair the holes with duct tape, but really I need to source (or make?) a cover the right size before next winter.

There was good news on the citrus front: both the kumquat and lemon trees seem to have recovered from the drought they suffered earlier in the year; they have new shoots and plenty of new foliage. The orange tree has several tiny fruits so we may even have an orange or two later in the year!

I spent some time (and money!) at Jardiland, and have replaced some plants which died from lack of water (lavender, white gaura) as well as adding quite a bit of colour, mainly in the east border which has never had much. I was really pleased with the way it looked after being thoroughly weeded and stocked with flowering plants - mainly annuals but one or two perennials - lupin ("Persian slipper") and salvia (Salvia gregii Fuchsia). The watering system in this border had suffered badly from the neighbour's cats knocking it as they leapt on to the garden wall, so I've replaced it with soaker hose.


In the front garden I cut the photinia back hard. It had grown far too tall for its position - as high as the fig tree next door - and was keeping light from the plants beneath. It will need regular pruning in future. The cordyline growing in a pot by the fence I had thought was dead, but a new shoot proved me wrong. As it recovers, I've given the pot some colour by adding a couple of petunias. I bought another cordyline, too, and planted it in a tall blue pot we brought out from London. It's now on the decking.