Not too long to wait.

Not sure if you will have given up on me,

 as Mr France and I have been missing for almost a year,

 only popping in now again.

I'm pleased to say our house hunting has come to an end.

 After driving many thousands of km. we  have finally found our dream house

 in the South west of France, just over a 100 km from where we used to live. 

The terrain is very different, much more open space,

which varies from agricultural to wine growing.

This impressive building is the  Hotel de Ville /Town Hall.

The stone houses in this region are cream in colour,

 very different to the earthy coloured stone  where we used to live.

.

We have already eaten several times in this very popular small town.

There are lots of restaurants to choose from & plenty of artisan boutiques.

Already the tourists our buying their summer hats.

 

I'm sure it will become our favourite  place.

This is the river that passes through our village.

We now have  only 6 more weeks to wait until its ours.

However the previous owners are leaving soon to return back to the UK.

so we have been able to arrange for us to rent it before we sign with the Notaire.

I'll be able to let you see some pictures of new house when it belongs to us.

We'll be very busy these next few weeks preparing for our move.

 So until then 

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian

A mixed bag

This time of the year is always busy for us.

 Garden to keep tidy for our guests 

Especially this adorable 'Labradoodle'  from Holland.

 He was the star  staying in La Petite Maison

I found out he even takes his own selfies.

 Summer time is a must for market shopping.

always get there early, before the crowds appear.

I start off with the fruit stalls.

Then the Charentais melons, to take home and have for lunch

served with some jambon cru, and a crusty baguette.

There was even a stall selling Jambon from the Auvergne.

Local honey on a croissant for breakfast.

 A medley of tasty vegetables for lunch.

Traditional goodies to savour.

A lovely selection of rose shrubs.

Then I found a lovely stall with an English lady selling beautiful original things.

I loved these old cases & boxes she covers in decoupage.

 In the summer there's always an organ grinder playing music .

Time for a spot of people watching and a cup of coffee before leaving.

Easy all in one meals.

Then the joy of eating outside.

Followed by Strawberries from the Dordogne.( The best in France )

Family and friends popping in for aperitifs. 

All the things I love about summer.

How about you, what do you enjoy the most about summer ?

I'm looking forward to some long sunny summer days and evenings.

Spent outdoors.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian

Summer is always a busy time.

As always Summertime keeps us busy.

The garden and our summer cottage keeps Mr France and I occupied.

After my surgery last year the garden suffered considerably.

A few weeks ago we had a visit from the person in charge of the committee

for 'Le Concours des Fleurs'/ The Floral competition.
 persuading us to enter le concour  again.

Apparently last year we had been greatly missed by the judges.
Although we always have an abundance of flowers
 in pots and hanging baskets, we agreed to enter the competition again.



I love this corner, as I can change the pots when they look a bit sad
or add some of my collected items found at the brocante  sale.
Which Mr France describes as junk !

So after returning from our short 5 day visit to the U.K.
visiting friends and family, we were frantically putting
together baskets and troughs, to adorn the terrace and windowsills,
which is the category we are entered in.

Here's a few we have done and now hanging from the terrace.

These geraniums I managed to over winter from last summer.
and just added a few other plants to fill in the gaps.

Window troughs or boxes as they are known as in England
are always a pretty way to brighten up the front of the cottage.

Our new roses planted in the Spring are flowering nicely.
If you'd like to wander around my garden with me,
come back soon and enjoy seeing what's growing
 where I live in rural France.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian

Summers still here in France.

 

 

Although our summer has not been glorious sunshine everyday
and I was not able to give our garden the care it needed
we still have some plants giving us lots of colour.

These  Echinacea  have flowered all summer
 and it looks like they will for a lot longer.

 

 

 

 

 

 They will definitely have to be moved to the new flower bed,

as they have taken over this small area smothering the smaller plants

which are now hidden underneath, fighting for a bit of light.

 

 

I bet you're wondering why I'm showing these Lobelia growing in the gravel ?
Every year I used to sow Trailing Lobelia seeds in trays,
they would germinate,  start to grow, then shrivel up !
Now I go to the nearest garden centre and buy them fully grown in small pots.
Then every year half way through the summer they pop up in the gravel,
from seeds which must have fallen from the previous year.
I pull them out and put them into my hanging baskets.
They must like the cold moist gravel during the winter.
So much for my tender loving care I give to the seeds I sow.




Iceland Poppy

Last year I acquired two Iceland poppy plants.
They were on the shelf in a little shop and looked like they were almost dead.
 As I had bought a few other plants, I thought I'd ask if I could have the two for the price of one.
It must have been my lucky day, he put them in a bag
and said it was a petite cadeaux / a little gift.

They flowered for quite sometime, then completely disappeared.
Then this summer after thinking they had died
they must have been slowly growing without me knowing what they were,
and now summer is almost over they've decided to flower.
I need to mark there place so that I'll remember for next year.

 

This is another annual plant that I found growing in the gravel from a fallen seed,

 I pulled it up and popped it into this blue glazed pot so that I can move it about  

and now it adds some bright colour to an other wise dull spot.

 

 

 

Blue Campanula - carpatica

I did plant some white ones, but they don't seem to have survived the wet winter.

 

 

 

 

 I rescued this on one of my walks from a compost heap.

Perhaps someone had been thinning out their flower bed. I took them home,

not sure what they were until they flowered, then I knew... Osteospernum

I've put them in pots until I'm able to get the proposed flower bed dug out.

 They have flowered on & on all summer.

Being white I need to be put them somewhere that needs lightening up.

 

 

Such a pretty flower.

 

 

Hibiscus - Adonicus pink.

I've kept this in it's original pot and it's been flowering profusely   

since my stay in hospital. It was a gift from a friend.

It still has lots of buds.

 

 

This Fuchsia has such a beautiful flower. Unfortunately I don't know the name.

 I managed to over winter it from a hanging basket I'd bought last year.

It's struggled a bit, but it's now showing some lovely blooms.

 now that summer is nearly over. 

 

 

 

I see from several of my blogger friends gardens that Autumn is certainly here.

I hope some of you can manage to hold on to summer a bit longer, If not,

maybe you have some plants in pots that are still flowering that you can bring indoors.

 

What ever your weather enjoy your garden.

 

I know my posts have been few and far between these past few months,

but I'm almost back to my old self.

I have greatly appreciated all the kind get well wishes from so many of you.

 

I'll be back soon, as  I have something I want to share with you.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian

 

 

 

In the Pink.

 

 

My garden is full of pink this summer

and

I'm also feeling in the pink.

 

 

 

Almost recovered from my surgery.

 I'm  now able to do lots of things which have been on hold

 

 

Come with me and enjoy some of my PINK.

 

Not the usual sort of thing I put in my garden.

 

 

 

This was given to me last year by the Floral committee

 along with my diploma as part of my prize .

 

Not sure how long this will have a place in my garden !

It's now tucked in a corner till I get used to seeing it.

 

 

 

The only Lily I managed to see.

The Lily bug ate the rest before they were able to bloom.

 



Welcome to La Petite Maison our holiday rental house.

 

 

 



 



 

 

View from the sun deck. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Echinacea  (Poupres)



 

 

 

Phlox ( panicilarta )

A present given to me for my new flower bed.

to be created in Autumn.

 

 

 

Wild Foxglove

  Which pop up somewhere different each year.

I hope you enjoyed my Pink mood


I'll leave with a pretty posy
 to enjoy what ever mood you are in.

 

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian