Winter here in France is the time to prepare the garden. Time to get it ready for spring and planting things. This winter has been fluctuating dramatically, giving me teasing glimpses now and then of spring to come. The odd dash of sunshine. The hint of warmth in the day. Raising hopes up only to find the next day dawn cold.
Slowly Emerging
But I can tell spring is actually on its way by the hardy flowers that have been making themselves known slowly. Since the end of January, one by one they have been poking up through the soil, beginning to show their bright and sunny, generally yellow though sometimes purple, faces.
Everything seems to be wishing to show its face to the sky faster this year. (Or maybe it is just me after all the rain this past year.) Maybe it is a sign to get out there and do something – now. I really feel the temptation, especially when the sun is shining. Reigning in my enthusiasm is always a trick at this time of year. The new found warmth, and my impatience to get back into the garden, easily tricks me into planting too early some years.
Plenty to Do
The trick is to embrace the wish to ‘do’, but look at and focus on the building blocks that will support the garden for when planting season truly does come. And I really have to do a lot this year in my medieval restoration garden. Last year was all about clearing, planning layouts and planting perennials. Really the basics of getting the garden set up and running.
This year is about structures. Building on the plan, starting with bordering in the raised hugelkulture beds. I am trying to decide between simple planks, available at my local sawmill, or low wattling fences. The latter is my preference, but a tad trickier as I will have to search out, find and get permission to copse some hazelnut shoots, then drag them home. I love wattling, but not having the right trees in my garden providing the necessary bendy branches, limits how much I may be able to do. This would be a much slower project, but would look lovely. Maybe just undertake the asparagus bed this year. And then, given time, the whole garden may eventually be wattled. (Is that even a word?) Decision, decisions, decisions.
And then
I would like to put down wood chippings on the paths, which first requires the raised bed edges in place. Plus a little digging to flatten out some sloping paths. I love wood chipped paths. A chance to put my mulching to use, but also its a weed deterrent and yet soft under little flippered feet.
And a pagoda sort of structure is planned over the raised beds. Part permanent climbing trellis for certain veg, part overhead predator protection for the ducks. (Predator birds need space to swoop down at prey, by putting up vertical and horizontal pieces this makes it too difficult for them to manoeuvre downward.)
Already
Berry bushes and fruit trees have been pruned and generally everything given a spruce up. Strawberry plants have been trimmed of dead leaves and runners. Compost is slowly being added to the garden beds. New soil will be added over these next weeks.
And always there is collecting up of old bits of this and that. The garden was definitely a dumping ground of various broken bits of pottery, tiles and more over the decades, possibly even centuries. Before the days of rubbish/trash collection, the garden was where it went. (We are talking before plastics.) The ducks kick up, turn up and pick up pieces, bringing them to the top of the soil. Easy for me to, perpetually, come along and collect, moving them to a section of path where I am using these old pottery bits to form a ‘ceramic gravel’ path. But this time of year, whilst the soil is bare is the best time to spot pieces and clean up the garden.
And Hopefully
And finally, hopefully, there is Cafe du Canard. My beloved outside cafe seating area. My happy space. Everyone needs a Cafe du Canard in their life. A place you can go to sit, relax and simply be. Each place I have had the privilege to live has had just such a place created. And here will be and is no exception. There is a corner of my garden earmarked for this delighted anticipation. A bricked patio area of table and chairs I can look out over my garden from.
But first, it was the primary dumping ground of the garden and in need of clearing. I did a lot last year, but there is still more. It requires digging down deep, sifting through and clearing the dumped stones, bits of pottery, old nails, etc. Almost all to be re-purposed in some way. The stones I am finding are collected and may be used to build or re-build some walls. Pottery bits as mentioned to the path. Broken glass, if antique, will be provided to jewellery makers, otherwise it goes into glass recycling. Only rusted metal bits will go to the decheterie (village dump).
The trickiest thing to spot, but I am particularly looking for, are old long nails. They are being re-purposed into a teacup bird feeder wall. Let me explain…
Re-purposing
My little medieval garden is walled. My back garden wall is actually the ancient ramparts of the village. We are talking 1100s old. Another reason to sit in Cafe du Canard, to simply sit and soak up the history of the place. This wall is of course stone, and is a blank canvas. On to which I am building a massive bird feeding station. But in a pretty way, by rescuing old abandoned, no use to anyone, unloved tea cups.
Whenever I visit charity or bric-a-brac shops I search out beautiful old china tea cups. You know, those ones without the saucers. The ones no one will ever buy because there’s no saucer. They come home with me. I hammer in one of those old rusty long nails I find into the wall, and hang the tea cup from it. Then fill the cup with bird seed. It’s a win win on many levels. Re-using something beautiful but has little current purpose, creating an artistic feature in my Cafe du Canard, a place I can sit and watch the birds gorge themselves on seed, and of course feeding the birds. Very happy birds. Very happy me.
And this spring, I also want to add the odd old top missing teapot to the wall. I think they might make good nesting spots for some of the wee feathered folk.
More Garden Findings
If you enjoy gardening, or simply like to read about gardening, please check out my other Garden Findings. If you are particularly interested in the undertakings in my medieval garden, I have linked all the restoration garden posts here.
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And here’s a taste of garden items in My Shop:
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