Tuesday 5 April 2011

Blossoming in Buxerolles

Long time no news.  Sorry.  The move has taken a lot of energy and time and I have had nothing left for other activities such as blogging and emailing.

We are all moved in now and awaiting the arrival of our possessions from Australia.  It will be so good to have our "treasures" around us.  I will never again take for granted photographs, books and the assorted memorabilia that makes a house a home.

The past month has flown by.  When we arrived it was still very wintery and cold.  Heavy frosts each morning and the trees were completely bare.  Within the month spring has gradually forged its way into being and we are seeing more sunshine each day (and more rainy days.... but that is another story) and an increase in temperature.

We are lucky enough to have three forsythia in the garden, which heralded the arrival of spring with a profusion of bright golden yellow blooms.  So bright that it almost hurt your eyes to look at them after the long grey and bleak days of winter.

I have discovered wild strawberries, violets and cyclamens throughout the garden.  In fact, our lawn is more of them than grass!  Oh well, at least they are pretty.  I have given the lawn a good feed, weeded and added grass seeds.  Hopefully by summer we will have a nice lawn to enjoy.  The scent of the violets has been amazing and the lawn has more purple flowers than green at present, so I am not too stressed.  Yet.

The native annuals have popped up everywhere in the edges of the garden and it is a very pretty sight.  I have been holding off on cutting the grass in certain patches so that they can flower and seed for next year.  It gives a sort of wild meadow effect, which is not tidy and groomed, but a haven for bees and other insects and attracts the birds.

Our neighbours have many fruit and nut trees which overhang our boundary.  We are going to enjoy almonds, hazelnuts and cherries courtesy of them.  The picture above is of the cherry tree in full bloom.  Really beautiful against a blue sky and with a lovely perfume too.  It overhangs our terrace area, so will be convenient for sitting around and plucking fresh cherries for dessert after a bbq.

The vegetables are planted in raised garden beds and are flourishing.  I have picked my first crop of rhubarb and made compote to eat with homemade yoghurt.  A herb bed will be going in this week, and tomatoes after the weekend.  There is still the occasional frost so cannot go crazy with the softer, less hardy plants yet.

We are really enjoying our new home and the area.  The neighbours are all welcoming and kind, and it has been a pleasure interacting with people in our day to day lives.  None of the stress and angst that you face in Paris.

More photos and posts will follow.  I am in the midst of brewing strawberry ratafia, limoncello, and other goodies.  A set of six art deco dining chairs is also in the process of renovation.  Lots to do.  Will try and keep you up to date with it all.

7 comments:

  1. O, honey, it sounds so good,all of it. Enjoy, enjoy, ENJOY!!!big hugs for you two plus furbabies from us!

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  2. Thank you!

    We are enjoying it immensely.

    When are you and Jaap heading this way?? There is a guest wing awaiting your arrival. We are only an hour and a half from the summer home.

    bisous

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  3. It's so wonderful to hear from you! Glad everything's settling down a bit -- the new place sounds absolutely beautiful.

    Please post more pictures when you get a chance!

    xoxo

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  4. Wow Debbie it looks beautiful, (at least those branches!) and it sounds very rural..? And permanent?
    Here is our weather on April 3 --
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/41199487@N00/5599383038/
    I am waiting for spring too!

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  5. Emily, of course I will put more photos up soon. I owe you an email, sorry. Will try and make time next week. Hope everyone is well. Eric has turned into a plastic bag and window licker...... maybe he has been talking to Olive? bisous

    Rosemary, I am loving your collection!!!! The photo of the snow is beautiful, but it seems you have a passion for china/porcelain/glass/crystal like me. How wonderful
    I will explain the new location in a future post, but if you google Buxerolles in France and look at it on the mixed view you will see we are surrounded by farmland. The first farm is actually 100metres from our house. Yet we have a lively (though small) city 10 minutes away. A perfect mix for me.

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  6. Debbie, I had already googled Buxerolles, as soon as I read your post! There are 2 Buxerolles, I had to sort that out first--you're the Vienne, not the Cote d'Or right? There is not a lot online about the place, so I figured it must be fairly pastoral. I can only imagine how beautiful and fragrant and full-of-fresh-produce your summer will be.
    Your cats will love it -- or are they completely city indoor cats? And it occurred to me maybe you'll get a puppy, a little native wagging Buxerollois.
    I'm taking pics of my things to organize and sort what I'll keep, what goes to eBay. I've simply accumulated too much.

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  7. Yes, we are in Vienne. If you look up Poitiers it is the city we are a few minutes from. It is called the city of churches and very beautiful.

    The boys are indoor cats. We have too many small creatures that would be killed by cats in our garden. Even though there are a lot of cats in the neighbourhood, I will not contribute to the decline in population of the red squirrels, etc by releasing my boys outdoors.

    I would love a dog, but have been told not this year..... sigh. We are going to Australia for a long visit later in the year so probably a good thing.

    Oh no. How will you decide what to part with??? A crisis in my opinion...lol

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