Our first guests for 2016 have been and gone and although the weather was far from perfect they enjoyed the stay and maybe just as well as the lady had a recently broken foot and was ordered to rest it.
However everything is now gearing up for garden 2016 preparations and the plug plants arrived last week - all 470 of them so Maureen has been busy replanting them into larger pots so they can grow larger and stronger in our small greenhouse.
This lot should look magnificent in the cottage garden, will it be enough to win the regional gite garden competition?
Its still rather cold and these plants are small so they will need a few weeks TLC in the greenhouse before planting out into tubs, baskets and flower beds.
Our vegetable garden is currently having a major renovation, and I stress the word major! Everything has gone and we are starting with a blank canvas. We will be installing raised beds, paths and other areas for fruit bushes etc in an effort to make the entire area much more manageable. In October 2015, after we removed all existing structures and plants one of our local French neighbors came and turned the area over with a plough in preparation for the winter weather. This week my French friend came with his small tractor and rotavator and turned it over again.
This certainly saves time compared to a spade although we did spend time hand digging to remove stones and other debris.
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| Now that's loads better! |
Of course only in France do you find neighbors with tractors large and small, excavators and all manner of heavy duty equipment and all happy to help out when called.The guy driving the tractor is Michel, we first met at Leeds Carnegie in 1972 and have been friends ever since.
