A blaze of autumn colour in our Brittany garden...

It's at this time of year that you start to notice the gaps where colour and structure perhaps are needed to bring certain areas of the garden together - not so easy to see during the summer months when the garden is full to brimming with interest.  So if you're thinking of re-planting part of your garden or are starting from scratch I thought I'd share some of the pictures I took in our garden in Brittany today in between the showers - do bear in mind that most of the plants and shrubs that survive here will also do well in the south of England as well as a bit further north too - we had temperatures as low as -9 degrees last year and up to about 32 degrees during this last summer and as yet despite frosts in the UK as I understand, we've escaped this so far!

Rosa Compassion has been amazing this year and as you can see providing amazing blooms even into October - the other rose also doing well is Madame Alfred Carriere - also high on my list of recommendations of a repeat very scented semi climbing/rambler rose.  The other perennial that comes into their own at this time of year is the humble Aster - providing essential pollen for bees and butterflies alike and more than popular for many of the insect world too.

This beautiful Honeysuckle - Lonicera japonica "Halliana" is a semi evergreen which despite the cold temperatures last year still held onto its leaves - it also has a fantastic perfume as well as being a prolific grower - the blackbirds and thrushes love this is a nesting site.

Our woodland is currently a carpet of leaves as you can see - mainly from the cherry trees - the Oaks tend to lose their leaves a lot later - with all the wind and rain this last week leaves seem to be falling rather quicker than normal!

I love this time of year with all the changing leaf colours - spring does seem a while away so I thought I'd take some of the plants that have endured one of the dryest summers we've had yet and are certainly benefitting from all the recent rain.

These two brightly coloured Sedums are great plants for providing colour and are a favorite amongst butterflies and bees again but also doing well in all the hot dry weather too - so plants to consider if you've got an area where the soil dries out more quickly than others - they also prefer a sunny spot!

This brightly coloured chap (or chapess!) I found on the Fennel - the rather stunning Swallowtail Butterfly caterpillar.  As well as Fennel they also like Dill - we seem to have had quite a good number of these this year - more than usual and have also seen many more Swallow Tail's too - they are incredible butterflies flying to amazing heights compared to many others here.

I don't think any garden should be without a Crab Apple - this one is Malus "Everest" and provides a wonderful show of blossom in late spring and then these beautiful rosy crab apples in Autumn which last well into the winter - good for Jellies or just leave them for the birds and when it's really cold provides them with some essential feeding - the Song Thrush, Blackbird and Black Caps were amongst those birds feasting on these last winter.  It's not a large tree so suitable for the smaller garden too.

These rather colourful Geraniums / Pelargoniums are in our greenhouse - the bees seem more than happy to go the extra mile to visit these blooms - particualrly the scented leaved Pelargonium.  As frosts become more imminent do bring in any favorites that you have outside in pots - you might even think of taken a few cuttings too.





There are just so many plants in flower at this time of year giving plenty of choice if you're looking for new additions to your own garden for next year.. here are a few more of my favorites.







Last but not least the lovely Walnut - it's going to be another good year for these and we've got a good carpet of already fallen nuts on the ground - do hope the weather dries out a bit to enable us to get these in before they're all gobbled up by the birds, mice and foxes!

Do hope you have a good week and that the weather is being a bit kinder to you than it currently is here... Miranda

Beautifully Designed French Gardens... in Northern Brittany

If you dream of finding some inspiring gardens, in a beautiful part of the world which you can enjoy with a lovely group of people and leave most of the organising to someone else (apart from booking some accommodation and the transport to France that is)… I think you’ll find that French Gardens Today will be the answer!  If you want a totally organised tour they can also cater for this too in association with Cricketer Holidays.

Just over a week ago now, I had the pleasure of working with Clare Whately of French Gardens Today on her new garden tour of some of the most beautiful gardens in northern Brittany.  We had a fabulous few days and visted some beautiful gardens - The first was  Les Jardins de Kerdalo - created by the late Prince Peter Wolkonsky - and now in the extremely capable and skilled hands of his daughter Isabelle Vaughan and her husband Timothy Vaughan - a truly stunning garden...

The incredible bark of Arbutus andrachnoides 

The interesting trunk of the stunning Exchorda x macrantha "The Bride"

I think the photos speak for themselves! 













This particular tour is being repeated next year again but in from the 10-11th May 2011, so don't miss out on a real treat.  For more information email Clare - mailto:clare@frenchgardenstoday.co.uk. 

 

The next garden we went to was slightly more inland - the Grand Launay - this garden is only open sur rendez vous - a very special garden with some incredible ideas and planting - created by Jean Schalit who has definitely dared to be different - some amazing examples of pruning and topiary too - an inspiration!

A resting place to sit and contemplate and soak in the atmostphere of this special place.

Day 2 of our tour took us up to the coast to one completely private garden which will remain a surprise for any of you booking on the tour in May as the owners would prefer that the garden remain private - a total delight.  The other garden which we visited on day 2 was fabulous - and only open on Sunday mornings by prior reservation and is by a guided tour only - The Jardin du Pellinec - the variety of trees and shrubs and perennials is incredible here and especially as this garden was only started just 10 years ago - the setting is very special with views out to sea and you have that sense of being completely cosseted by the rich flora and fauna.

This photo of these beautiful Japanese Anenomes seemed like the fitting photo for the end of this posting!

A table for 1...

Unaware of a personal booking for this little surprise visitor at the bird table yesterday late afternoon I was very fortunate that this little Woodmouse hung around long enough for a few photos!!  I've never seen one on the bird table let alone during daylight hours - I thought these were traditionally nocturnal creatures!?

Living in the Brittany countryside in France is never short of surprises!

This was another surprise that I was lucky enough to spot with my camera at hand - this Heron was perched in the massively tall Poplar tree at the bottom of the woodland next to the stream.

Another bit of excitement that I had recently, was to see the return of the Nuthatches (after not seeing them here for nearly 1.5 years) - 3 in total were spotted but on the whole there appears to be a pair regularly visiting the nutfeeders.  They're fantastic little birds and very entertaining - typically feeding upside down on the feeders unlike most other birds.

And finally to complete this story - one that could have been disastrous for this poor little fellow who I discovered in our woodburner in the sitting room - I could hear a weird nose from the kitchen so went to investigate only to discover he or she had fallen down the flue of our stove and there it was madly tapping the glass of the door of the stove with its beak - so glad I was around to help!  Anyway - I opened the doors to the garden and opened up the stove door and the little bird only flew straight towards the window and knocked itself out cold.  I was v. concerned to say the least - picked it up and it lay in my hand and decided to walk outside and it started to come back to life.  I reckoned the safest place to let him recover was within the confines of the bird table and there he sat on the railing watching all the other birds coming and going - he was very young and probably not quite ready to leave the nest but having gone away to make a cup of tea, I returned to find his perch empty and he was no where to be seen so can only believe that he was off and away and off to start his life somewhere...

Do hope you're all having a good week and are enjoying more of the sunny warm weather that has returned this last 2 days...

Recycling - why do we need to bother?!

This is a question I've heard more than just a few times and RECYCLE - The Essential Guide will I'm sure impress on you why you should bother!  It's a new and exciting book, packed with interesting facts and ideas and should be a No. 1 choice on anybody's Wish List!

RECYCLE - The Essential Guide includes an introduction by the One Show's Lucy Siegle and is one of the best informed books I've read on this topic.  Information and case studies are included on recycling projects across the globe and show clearly how recycling is essential and not a mere choice of "do we or don't we?"  If you're not convinced then I've no doubt that by the time you've finished reading this book you will be...  There are so many varied ways of recycling - it's not just about recycling your rubbish!

Being a keen gardener one of the obvious ways of recycling in the garden is that of composting which not only helps to reduce the amount of rubbish in your dustbins but has many added benefits to the garden and the soil including helping you achieve better vegetable crops, enjoy healthier plants and aid in reducing the amount of actual watering you might need to do over the warmer months of the year.  There is a very comprehensive chapter on this subject with some great suggestions on how to create your own wormery as one example.

If you would like to order a copy, you will get a 40% discount as a reader of this blog and you should email Jessica Atkins mentioning that you found the details on my blog site.

Definitely food for thought!