I actually enjoy raking the colourful leaves and continue to mulch my front borders as I weed them and make plans for autumn replantings.
I am spending even more time in the garden as we are still confined to the house except for essential limited cases.
So things are different this year. The garden is different. It is warm and sunny here. The Cosmos sulphureus which have been wilting towards winter have started to reflower.
The coloured Cosmos which have finished weeks ago have started to grow from the seeds set this year and are now flowering.
The Salvia “Hot lips” is still going strong.
The Fuschia has fewer flowers but still putting on a good show.
My Abutilon are in their element and I am glad I attempted these plants that will not survive severe winters.
So we are still enjoying our coffee on the patio beside the Salvia leucantha in the sunshine.
The pollen sac on the white tailed bumble bee tells me she has decided to have a brood at the end of November. I hope her optimism is well founded.
After all the raspberries are still producing fruit.
The Mahonia bushes are full of bumble bees.
The Wall butterfly (Lasiommata megera) suns itself in the garden.
Our little green tree frog enjoys the sunshine behind the shutter. She appreciates the sunshine – confinment or conditions or covid – do not concern her.
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.
It certainly doesn’t look like November, but it is wonderful that you can still enjoy time on your patio and still have so many flowers. I love your amber tress. We have just planted two young ones. 😃 We have had sunshine too, but temperatures are clearly a lot lower here. About 4°C today. But I still have bees on my Chrysanthemums.
I am sure your Liquidambar trees will become firm favourites at this time of year for you. I am just getting to the stage in our garden to be able to start to plan to have interest in the places that matter throughout the year. Amelia
So glad to see that with your restrictions still in place, you’re able to enjoy such wonderful weather and still have so many flowers and insects. And frog. What a boost to the senses. I love Liquidambers, and your leaf collection. it’s a real regret that all 3 we planted here have failed, possibly because of the wet conditions at their roots? Best wishes
Julian
I often read about plants not liking wet conditions but it is something I never have to concern myself with here. I zoom in on the plants that can stand drought. We are so lucky at the moment with the weather as the restrictions in place for the Covid do upset our habits and life here. At least with this sunshine we can truly look on the bright side :). Amelia
There you go again, I’m jealous of your November flowers. Our bees have been consoldiated to smaller, winter, hives and given quilt boxes to keep them warmer and drier through the deep winter. With our roller-coaster weather, we also loaded them up with mashed comb and honey (up top), so they’d save their frames of comb for the really cold weather.
We also have mahonia in flower now and honeybees seem to be the only customers at present. The weather has been very poor, though, damp and grey, so I am waiting for a sunny day which might tempt out the bumblebees.
We planted and ornamental pear tree “Chanticleer” last year, for its colour, but all its leaves have not turned yet for its first winter with us. A surprise for us to look forward to yet. Amelia
a french garden 
November 20, 2020 at 8:11 pm
A wonderfully self contained frog! Stay well.
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November 21, 2020 at 8:22 am
She is my role model, I am trying to stay cool like her. Do you think it is O.K. to have a frog as a role model :)? Amelia
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November 20, 2020 at 8:25 pm
It certainly doesn’t look like November, but it is wonderful that you can still enjoy time on your patio and still have so many flowers. I love your amber tress. We have just planted two young ones. 😃 We have had sunshine too, but temperatures are clearly a lot lower here. About 4°C today. But I still have bees on my Chrysanthemums.
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November 21, 2020 at 8:25 am
I am sure your Liquidambar trees will become firm favourites at this time of year for you. I am just getting to the stage in our garden to be able to start to plan to have interest in the places that matter throughout the year. Amelia
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November 20, 2020 at 8:31 pm
So glad to see that with your restrictions still in place, you’re able to enjoy such wonderful weather and still have so many flowers and insects. And frog. What a boost to the senses. I love Liquidambers, and your leaf collection. it’s a real regret that all 3 we planted here have failed, possibly because of the wet conditions at their roots? Best wishes
Julian
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November 21, 2020 at 8:29 am
I often read about plants not liking wet conditions but it is something I never have to concern myself with here. I zoom in on the plants that can stand drought. We are so lucky at the moment with the weather as the restrictions in place for the Covid do upset our habits and life here. At least with this sunshine we can truly look on the bright side :). Amelia
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November 21, 2020 at 4:54 pm
Lucky you Amelia… continual mizzle and gloom here!
Best wishes
Julian
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November 20, 2020 at 9:17 pm
Lovely! Thank you for sharing . 🍀🌸🐝
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November 21, 2020 at 11:33 am
How charming to see so much color and lovely flowers – nice pictures!
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November 22, 2020 at 3:40 pm
There you go again, I’m jealous of your November flowers. Our bees have been consoldiated to smaller, winter, hives and given quilt boxes to keep them warmer and drier through the deep winter. With our roller-coaster weather, we also loaded them up with mashed comb and honey (up top), so they’d save their frames of comb for the really cold weather.
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November 22, 2020 at 5:20 pm
We also have mahonia in flower now and honeybees seem to be the only customers at present. The weather has been very poor, though, damp and grey, so I am waiting for a sunny day which might tempt out the bumblebees.
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November 25, 2020 at 6:29 am
The sunny days are very precious at this time of year. Amelia
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November 22, 2020 at 10:41 pm
Liquidambar was one of the first tree we planted hear, a must have tree for me.
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November 25, 2020 at 6:32 am
We planted and ornamental pear tree “Chanticleer” last year, for its colour, but all its leaves have not turned yet for its first winter with us. A surprise for us to look forward to yet. Amelia
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