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Happy gardening!

Monday 30 April 2012

Our Brittany garden springs into life....

Despite all the rain and stormy days, we've had the odd moment of sunshine... I took this a few days ago in between showers and since then it's done nothing but rain! 

The Geranium phaeums are some of my favorite flowers at this time of year... I couldn't recommend them enough and are easy to grow.




 This is the view from our garden looking through the woodland... it's full of bird life at this time of year.  We're very fortunate to have such an amazing variety of birds but here - helped with lots of trees and the small river that runs at the bottom too... it's a lot of hard work to keep looking nice but well worth all the effort!  On my way out with the dog this week, I  was surprised by the sight of a little Tree Creeper - about 3 meters from where I was stood flitting up and down one of the Oak Trees - such a tiny but beautiful bird that you don't often see close up like that. 
There are so many beautiful colours in the garden at this time of year - it was hard to choose which photos to add to today's account of our garden... so I just added most of them to share with you as it's been a while since my last posting!

This is one of the many Oriental Poppies in the garden and not far off bursting into life... hopefully the stormy weather will be over before it's open!
 























  This is a fabulous tree, even for a small garden - Malus Everest is a crab apple with beautiful blossom at this time of year and then small brightly coloured fruits which last all the way through to January/February and the birds love them!

This is a plant that I bought recently - infact it's a third of it... when I got back I split it up as it was very pot bound and all three plants are doing well! I must admit I often look for plants that need dividing up - I bring them on in pots and then plant them out.

 Lily of the Valley has special significance in France - On May 1, 1561, King Charles IX of France received a lily of the valley as a lucky charm. He decided to offer a lily of the valley each year to the ladies of the court. At the beginning of the 20th century, it became custom to give a sprig of lily of the valley, a symbol of springtime, on May 1. The government permits individuals and workers' organisations to sell them tax-free. It is also traditional for the lady receiving the sprig of lily of the valley to give a kiss in return. Nowadays, people may present loved ones either with bunches of lily of the valley or dog rose flowers.


I had to share a picture of this - the latest site for a breeding pair of Blue Tits - they have their nest in the top part of the pump - luckily it's not in use!


















































Last but not least a picture of the Camelias and other spring flowering plants under our Walnut Tree.... do hope we get some more sunny spells this week!  This year the weather has gone from one extreme to another.  Our Swallows haven't even started nesting yet - this time last year we had swallow babies by now... all said and done though I did hear the Cuckoo for the 3rd day in a row so perhaps warmer weather really is on it's way!