Pyrenean Wild Flowers

or are they? 
Fours hours' walk in the Eyne national park, and a lovely mountain meadow landscape spread itself out before us. It would have been even more colourful a month ago, but still there were blues, purples, pinks, yellow, and loads of waving and foaming white French Cow Parsley... or Ammi as it has become fashionably known in the garden world. The blues and mauves were from Geranium Pratense, the hardy geranium that is the basis of so many perennial garden plans for dry and shady areas. To see it reveling in the sunshine (though at a rarified 1600m) was a delight. The best sight was these two waving together in the wind - how could it be photographed? It was such a moving sight I had to video it to get the best record of the combination. 
Also a pale pink Ammi, though that was further down the mountain, so possibly a sport. Sitting together were Scabious and Thrift, both a gorgeous fuschia/Sciaparelli pink. Little bright pink Dianthus too, and a small paler pink one with a deep perfume. And Spotted Orchids, just like you get on the Lewes bypass! Pyrenean Valerian, pale pink and a beautiful scented flower like Valerian Officialis at home. A tiny white and yellow pansy or viola, occasionally tinged with lilac.
The yellows included a plant I had not seen before, a tall and stately single stalk, a rosette of four fleshy leaves at its base, and a series of yellow upturned points, arranged around in a circle on the stem, with a little frill of green under each, like a chandelier. It reminded me of the fritillary lily, but it wasn't until we had a look in the Maison de la Vallée (visitor centre) that we found it is a Gentiane Géant, a Yellow Gentian. 
Now, none of these flowers were in the Pyrenees mountain flower book. Are they garden escapees? Certainly the gardens about the village abounded in them as well, with lupins and other cottage garden plants. Hmmm, needs a bit more research. In the meantime I have saved a few sprigs of the seed of each, and will plant it fresh, and see what happens.

olive trees

Byrrh ghost advert

Pattern for a wrought iron fence – the passion flower

With the blue sky above, the silhouette of the passion flower on the arches over the terrace looks hand-made. The tendrils move, without being seen, into different curlicues every day. The stem is brought closer to the wire, gradually. The green fruits hang down, with the little three-pointed stamen of the flower at the apex… lots of them this year! It’s been an early spring I think, because there were still flowers on this creeper in July last year, and already the fruit is a reasonable size. It has come from a garden behind, up and over the wall. I trained it onto wires, and it seems quite happy. If we come back in September, maybe they will be orange and ripe to eat, with such a long season.

The leaves of the plant look like beaten metal, and I am tempted to use them as a template for a little fence or gateway… find a blacksmith who can do this in Brighton.

Breakfast on the terrace is bearable, lovely actually – then the heat rises to 36°C. Even the weekly market packed up at midi, stalls dismantled in a matter of minutes, and the new white garlic  had to be retrieved from the van!

Thunder today, bringing the swifts lower to catch the insects – screaming around in adolescents gangs, over the rooftop and into the street, low, synchronised. The little lizard peeps out, watching the ants on the wall, salivating I expect!

Another home's boundary

The edges of this little French garden seem very close together now, compared with the new one in Brighton. A small cour with a beaten earth floor leads to the little raised terrace, no bigger than a boxroom. Even the mulberry - le murier platane - has expanded to fill the space. Pruning it over the last two years – partly to clear the shady areas of the patio – has given it vigour, and new smaller branches are bearing fruit. With big leaves on them – heart shaped and shiny. The puzzle is to work out what the seedlings are in the mint pot under the tree. They could be mulberries, sown by dropping off the tree or even bird-sown. But the leaves look different, more cut-in and pointy, less shiny. Did I plant other seeds there, from another fruit tree, thinking it would be good to start a little fruitier? What other trees are around– not beech, maybe a cerisier from last year’s crop in Ceret ?

This year we are here early, so I’m collecting the black mulberries from the branches I can now reach, and adding them to a sugary pot. Maybe to turn them into liqueur by the end of the week?

Glowing red harvests

Conserve de Framboises

Raspberry Royale

Just before the rain, we picked all the Redcurrants that were left, about 300g, so only 2 little pots of jelly.
The Raspberries did better, seven pots and still more coming everyday. The recipe is from a French book and is called Conserve de Marie, minimal cooking, lots of sugar - the taste of summer on a spoon!
The blackcurrants have also made a good litre of the basis for Crème de Cassis, currently steeping in 40 degs proof Alcool Pour Fruits in the cupboard until November. Then it gets strained, sugar added, and stored for another few weeks until ready for Christmas Kir Royale!

Gelée de Groseilles - redcurrant jelly!

Redcurrants in the late evening sun

The beautiful prospect of growing things

Beets, spinach, pot marigolds, leeks, cosmos, nasturtiums, mache, and yellow french beans... is it too much? We planted a lot in the bed... yes and took inspiration from the Potager, so leeks are in a circle, and then curves abound. I'm really looking forward to what it will look like in a few weeks' time, when all has settled in.

Then a deep cull of Sycamore, so much so that we uncovered the fence and saw signs of life from next door! The compost bins are now open to the elements a bit more, but more importantly, there will be light over a good part of the right hand fruit beds. And a whole new planting space has emerged, still to be cleared but the prospect of a vertical trellis for growing climbing fruit is in view.

The Top Bed now has another squash - Vif d'Etampes potiron - and it will be edged with the fiery red flowers of Crocosmia Lucifer. At the other end, three Crambe Maritima plants that I grew from root cuttings (my first ever!) are in there too, waiting for the growth that will show a marvellous structural framework in the winter... this year's christmas tree?

Second raised bed now ready for veg!

Two and a half hours' work and what emerged was a lovely fertile bed. Now double-height edged, raked and watered, it has rows of Red Titan Beetroot, little plants that have been sitting in modules for 6 weeks or more. I bet they're ready to spread their roots a bit! Cornflower Black Ball in rows for cutting too, a deep purple flower, from The Garden House seed. Can't see anything there? No, me neither - just wait two weeks and there'll be a lush carpet of red, green, steely grey and what I think will be pink Candy Stripe Cosmos.

What should go in next is spinach and french beans, before the Leeks - 50 of 'em bought from the man in Poix de Picardie Market on Monday. Also I read somewhere that veg patches often had Gladioli  - for cutting or for insect confusion? Either, it will do, as I have some sitting in a pot waiting to go in. Maybe some of the Pot Marigolds as well, with the Welsh Onions.
Digging I came across a yellow toad deep in the earth of the bed. Two slow worms, one quite small, the other about the size and colour of a new HB pencil - silvery/ochre and black -  slid their ways over the ground, and a little lizard, brown on top, orange underneath, played dead while I moved it out of the spade's way.

Then I was reading Summer's Permaculture Magazine, and here's a beautiful permaculture potager, laid out in diamonds and tapestry patterns. Maybe the leeks could be in the form of a circle or a spiral...
Still to put in: Crambe, Cosmos and Bidens, Nasturtiums, a French pumpkin and a round 'Nero' courgette. Then a French Cornichon into the greenhouse I think.

There's a gorgeous little blog entry from Jardin d'Orsan about how to protect top fruit from wasps and other predators, and coincidentally produce large and succulent fruit at the same same - with paper bags!

Have water, let it rain!

before...

Two days of lovely damp weather, about 2 cm rain on Sunday I think, judging from the overflow situation in the butts!

We waded into the summer-fruiting Raspberry patch to clear as much as possible before the rain got at the fruit, and we got thoroughly wet ourselves.

during...

500g resulted, and about 1/3rd of the space cleared of ground elder, bindweed and the occasional bramble.

after!!

Sycamore branches were thinned too, so at least less shade over the fruit beds, although this narrowed the dripline.
And by tonight (Wednesday) all the ground cleared, and another 500g of raspberries. Tying up the canes as we go, this year I will be able to tell the fruited canes from the new ones!

Instead of eating them, I have put them into a kilner jar,
with 300g sugar and filled the jar with the 40 Alcool pour fruits,
to make a raspberry liqueur.

Now, what to do with the Groseilles?

Providing water to the top garden

proved a bit of a chore! All the water butts are low, and the pond was parched. By dint of metres of yellow piping though we are gradually filling the butts, having discovered another tap on the 4th tier, where the vegetables will be. That's good! The six heritage Tomatoes in the greenhouse seem to be OK, but it would be better with some RAIN!

The pond has Watercress in it, now flowering white, and Bog Bean Menyanthes trifoliata (used by herbalists to treat various rheumatoid conditions.)  
Once the pond refilled, the water allowed the little black tadpoles to swim again, and maybe now they will convert to frogs - I seem to recall that imperfect conditions does lead them to 'sleep' a bit til optimum is restored.

Good drying weather!

It was 35 degs C in the conservatory by 10am this morning. A lovely place to read a newspaper and have a cup of tea or even to eat breakfast!

Base Map from 1920

This is the original parchment map of the plot of the house, taken from the Conveyancing document of 1920. In it the land & cottage is sold to a Mrs Preston, by the combined owners/ freeholders from the original Withdean and Tongdean Estate, about 6 of them. It shows that the plot is 148 feet on its longest side, 124.5 feet on the opposite side, 63.5 feet on the back end of the party fencing, and a mere 46 ft at the top end. This measurement is repeated in each conveyancing deed until about 1952, by which time the cottage had been renumbered twice and the road had been renamed.
There is now a garage not in this plan, and also the extension with the conservatory, which was built in 1999. It is most 'quirky' as the Estate Agent insisted! Some friends have said only someone like us would take it on, seeing its potential under all the bindweed! It seems it was an 'Allotment Cottage', in 1912. A neighbour says the road was an Orchard.

1912 Allotment Cottages are the half-timbered buildings

1925

From 1920 onwards the house seems to have a dual history of 'quick buck' sales and long occupation. Some owners have not lived in it, such as Mr Ogden, a Baker & Confectioner from Kemptown, so was it rented out? Others, such as the Betts, lived in it for 40 years. The Library archives should give us a good idea, especially as the Conveyancing history shows when it was no. 5, then no.12. There is a Covenant which says we cannot run it as a Pleasure or Tea Garden open to the Public !

1955

A week already

and what have we done apart from... emptied 30+ boxes, set up the office, got a new dishwasher, sorted the shower out, planted and watered and weeded and weeded, and Michael has even found the secret path! The shed is big enough to convert into a garden room, especially if there's a veranda extension.
Some Stanmer Park Road people, and others came over on Bank Holiday Monday, and the rain held off. Chocolate Cake, Cava and the Comfort of Friends. Some people did their own Garden Tour, aided by Rafi until he returned to his playstationgame (who could blame him?).
We can get 20 people into the conservatory BUT NO PHOTOS OF THEM IN IT!