Onward in January

January 9, 2014 by afrenchgarden 44 Comments

We returned from the U.K. with some plants that are a lot easier to source there and with an idea for the empty area created when the large pine tree was cut down.

Agreed, it does not look very impressive but it is the thought that counts. There are four willows of the red stemmed variety Salix alba Chermesina (or Scarlet Willow) planted in a zig zag fashion. These I hope to coppice so that they become bush-like. Although willows are reputed easy to root I bought mycorrhizal fungi and added this to help them adapt to their new home. I am not sure if such a large evergreen tree could have changed the micro-environment of the soil over time and so they might need a helping hand.

I also bought my first Mahonia. I had steered clear of Mahonias as some can be as prickly as holly so they need to be sited where they will not be brushed against. This Mahonia is Mahonia eurybracteata subspecies ganpinensis “Soft Caress”, as the name suggests – no spikes but soft frond like leaves! It was chosen as Plant of the Year at Chelsea Flower Show 2013. My new Mahonia also benefited from a helping of the same mycorrhizal fungi so I hope lots of intimate root associations are being made in this damp warm weather that we are having.

So far, so good but after more reading I found out that my new Mahonia may not be the plant that I am hoping will flower at this time of the year. I think that it maybe an earlier flowering variety as it is reputed to start flowering in October. Locally I have seen beautiful Mahonias flowering just now but with the spiky leaves. These were in a park with plenty of space. I’ll have to find a suitable spot in the garden as the flowers were fragrant and full of bees.

Another purchase in the U.K. was Rosa mutabilis from David Austin. Roses are not my favourite plants but I had seen so many beautiful pictures of it in Christina’s garden (http://myhesperidesgarden.wordpress.com) that I was completely seduced by this rose that flowers over a long season with few thorns and a perfume that attracts butterflies and bees. However, once again I should have been more careful. I have bought the variety Rosa mutabilis and not the variety Rosa mutabilis x Oderata. That means I have bought a rose with no perfume! For me that’s the best thing about roses, I just hope the bees won’t mind – I expect the pollen and the nectar is just as nourishing for them. Once again I used mycorrhizal fungi to encourage the new rose to have a healthy supported root system in its new home.

A tall blue Salvia brought over from my friend Linda’s garden completes the border which is now filled in with with summer bulbs and lots of Alliums.

Behind the new border many years worth of dropped pine needles had accumulated. I used these to mulch over the border hoping that it will prevent weed growth. There was lots more left after I had finished the border so I was able to use it in other parts of the garden. It is supposed to be good for strawberries so they had their share too.

This is the sort of screen I am hoping to create but I suppose it will take two or three years to reach this stage.

Between the stump and the new border there is a barren patch of ground where nothing has grown because the shade of the pine tree was so dense. I wonder if, now that the ground has been cleared of the pine needles, whether this might be an ideal site for mining bees to make their nests in the spring? Many types of mining bees like bare, sandy soil with little or no vegetation.

Elsewhere in the garden there is not much floral interest but my first snowdrops have arrived and I have surrounded them with a mulch of pine needles to keep the chickweed at bay. The weather is rainy and extremely mild with temperatures going as high as 16 degrees Centigrade.

One of the great successes in the garden is the Sarcococca confusa. It stands in the shade of a wall and gets very little direct sun but it thrives there and perfumes the corner that it grows in. After the white flowers come shiny black berries and now I find I am getting a lot of self-seeded plants. Some of the earlier babies are attaining a reasonable size and I have retrieved some smaller ones and planted them against a wall in the back garden that receives the same amount of light.

Red Admiral 3.1.14

The winter flowering honeysuckle is still in flower and provides nectar for the bees and over-wintering butterflies on the rare sunny days when the rain stops.

Author: afrenchgarden

Born in Scotland I have lived in England, Iran, USA and Greece. The house and land was bought twelve years ago in fulfilment of the dream of living in France that my Francophile husband nurtured. We had spent frequent holidays in France touring the more northerly parts and enjoying the food, scenery, architecture and of course gardens. However, we felt that to retire in France and enjoy a more clement climate than we currently had in Aberdeen we would need to find somewhere south of the river Loire but not too south to make returning to visit the UK onerous. The year 2000 saw us buying our house and setting it up to receive us and the family on holidays. The garden was more a field and we were helped by my son to remove the fencing that had separated the previous owners’ goats, sheep and chickens. We did inherit some lovely old trees and decided to plant more fruit trees that would survive and mature with the minimum of care until we took up permanent residence. The move took place in 2006 and the love hate relation with the “garden” started. There was so much to do in the house that there was little energy left for the hard tasks in the garden. It was very much a slow process and a steep learning curve. Expenditures have been kept to a minimum. The majority of the plants have been cuttings and I try to gather seeds wherever I can. The fruit trees have all been bought but we have tender hearts and cannot resist the little unloved shrub at a discount price and take it as a matter of honour to nurse it back to health. This year I have launched my Blog hoping to reach out to other gardeners in other countries. My aim is to make a garden for people to enjoy, providing shady and sunny spots with plants that enjoy living in this area with its limestone based subsoil and low rainfall in a warm summer. Exchanging ideas and exploring mutual problems will enrich my experience trying to form my French garden.