The pampas grass seems to have appeared from nowhere! A few days ago, there was no sign of it and now we have these wonderful silvery heads blowing in the wind.
The cornflowers have just kept flowering right through the year and have been a constant splash of blue.
The marigolds, which have never been one of my favourites, were planted because I am told they help to keep bugs way from the vegetables. I have to say they have been very colourful and maybe, just maybe, that is why I have had so few pests in the vegetable garden this year!!
These yellow daises which are flowering very well, are from the cheap packet of mixed seeds I bought early in the year, as mentioned several time in the past!!
I think this is a Sedum which is just coming into flower; I brought a small piece from the UK and it is now growing really well.
Rose hips which are giving lots of colour to one of the shrubs where it intermingles in other growth.
Yum, Yum, the figs are just delicious and I have plenty of fig jam to take back to the UK for winter.
The medlar fruits; sadly we will not be here when they are ready, as they need a first frost before picking.
Medlar fruit are very hard and acidic. They become edible after being softened ("bletted") by frost, or naturally in storage, given sufficient time. Once softening begins, the skin rapidly takes a wrinkled texture and turns dark brown, and the inside reduces to a consistency and flavour reminiscent of apple sauce. They can then be eaten raw, often consumed with cheese as a dessert, although they are also used to make medlar jelly and wine. Another dish is "medlar cheese", which is similar to lemon curd, being made with the fruit pulp, eggs, and butter. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mespilus
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| Topinambour flowers are happily opening their petals in a vase to give colour to the kitchen. See my last post. I also forget to mention in my last post, I have almost 30 kg of potatoes to take back to the   |
I didn't realize you shipped your harvest back to Britain. I would have thought that to be very expensive. Your photos today are just wonderful and give us the opportunity to see more of your garden. Be careful with the pampas grass. It has heard the command to reproduce and multiply :-). It is considered a noxious weed here for that reason. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary
ReplyDeleteMary the Pampas is no problem here, in fact it has taken a huge hammering from the fir tree that I have just removed so a lot of it has been killed!
ReplyDeleteTaking everything back to the UK is no problem as I have a huge car and we just fill up the back. The only water it crosses is the English Channel in the car by ferry. As I have to get back anyway it makes no difference, what I carry has no extra charge. The car is loaded with vegetables, jams, pickles and wine. The latter is so much cheaper here than in the UK.
When I return to France at the end of March, the car will be loaded yet again bringing our bits and pieces from the UK. All our furniture here in France has come over in the car including our huge double bed. Have a good weekend. Diane
Snap except the marigolds, we call the blue flower chicory here, maybe it is slightly different and the yellow daisy family flower we know as Rudbeckia. Always interesting to compare.
ReplyDeleteHi Lindy, Thanks for the name of the yellow daisy, but I think the Chicory flower is more daisy like than that of the cornflower. I am still not convinced about the marigolds but we did have alot less pests this year:-) Diane
ReplyDeleteI, like you, havfe never been a fan of marigolds but we do plant them to keep the pests away. I always think they look beautiful in other people's garden, like yours.
ReplyDeleteYour garden is stunning! What a great lot you have to take back to the UK. =)
Lovely flowers, Diane!
ReplyDeleteYou find Sedum here too (if this is the name, since I have no idea ether!)! I have it in my garden and propagated it very successfully!!
Your banner pic is really stunning too... thanks for noticing mine!!
Cheers, keep well!
Ree that is strange, as I also like marigolds in other people's gardens even though I dislike them. Never the less if they keep the pests away in the garden I can put up with them. Diane
ReplyDeleteNoushka I am pretty sure it is Sedum but there are several varieties so I don't know which one it is. This time of the year they look very pretty. All the graves at the Resistance Memorial have roses in summer, but at this time of the year the Sedum takes over. It is rare to see the the graves with no flowers at all. Diane
ReplyDeleteI love the pampas grass, and all your bright colored flowers.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a sedum, I have some too as it survives the heat. Your onion ropes are impressive. I googled how to do it but just couldn't get the hang of it, so ended up plaiting mine.
ReplyDeleteGaelyn I also love the Pampas at this time of the year. I just dont like cutting it back in spring:-( Its a case of long sleeves and gloves. Diane
ReplyDeleteJan the onion ropes are not that good but as long as it works that is all I care about:-) Diane
ReplyDeleteI love the cornflowers, we don't see them much here! Never heard of medlar fruit, and the fig jam sounds wonderful! You'll have to serve that when I come and visit...hehe!
ReplyDeleteBonjour Diane ~ I found your lovely post thru Anne of Oxfordshire and it's so lovely to see your garden plants. Here in Australia we have just started into our spring season and all my fruit trees are in bloom + little blue bells and snowdrops ~ a very pretty season. This will all change very quickly once the summer arrives. Have a lovely week-end.
ReplyDelete~Dianne~
Your garden is beautiful! I love all of your flowers.
ReplyDeleteIt must be important for you to take back to the UK the produce from your time spent here in France. Sort of keeps France with you for a while, and makes the winter therefore seem shorter. Well done you.
ReplyDeleteLyndsey, you are very welcome to take a couple of bottles of Fig Jam when you come and visit:-) Diane
ReplyDeleteBonjour Dianne, except as I type this it is probably Bonsoir where you live! Glad you have come visiting, strange about Anne and I :-)
ReplyDeleteAt this time of the year I wish I could move South rather than further North, I would be very happy to have perpetual summer, I am not a winter person at all!!!! Once we live here permanently in France though maybe with the wood fire burning I could learn to like winter. Diane
Thanks Marjie, The garden is still looking pretty good despite the cooler nights. Diane
ReplyDeleteVera you are right. It is hard returning to the UK for winter, but the produce does some how help to make me believe France is still around me:-) Roll on Nigel’s retirement so we can be here all year round. Looks like another two years though as things are at the moment:-( Diane
ReplyDeleteWonderful collection of flower and fruit shots. I really like pampas grass, they are everywhere here too. The onions look so cool on roaps!
ReplyDeleteThanks JM. I also love the pampas, they look so sleek and silvery with winter approaching and everything else going over. Diane
ReplyDeleteThanks for info I think the flower I have used to make a blog badge with is chicory then?
ReplyDeleteAmazing coincidence about you and Anne :)
Lindy you are right about Anne, it is an incredibly small world. It will be good to meet up with her when I return to the UK next month. Diane
ReplyDeleteThe flowers are beautiful, and it must be good to take back your harvest to get you through a British winter!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovley post Diane. It is amazing how one plant can be beneficial to another. If you have ants in your garden, plant mint. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these wonderful photos..
ReplyDeleteHi Diane,
ReplyDeleteI am coming via Anne's blog. I am a friend of hers who lives outside Paris. It is always lovely to visit blogs of friends!
I have been enjoying this gorgeous display of nature. The figs hit close to home, as I have a tree.Yummy indead(I baked a pie with some yesterday).
chaiselongue I am alsways sad to go back to the UK for winter as I love France so much. Taking all the vegetables back with me helps to think I have a bit of France around me :-) Diane
ReplyDeleteHi Joan, I have mint in the garden but under control as it just takes over. As the ants killed off both my parsley and one rhubarb plant this year maybe I will have to think again!! Maybe water with a type of mint tea:-)Diane
ReplyDeleteSonia thanks for your comments. Have a good day. Diane
ReplyDeleteHi Barbara, good to meet another friend of Annes. It is so strange after all this time that we find we have a house in the same wee village in the UK!! I am looking forward to meeting her next month.
ReplyDeleteFig pie sounds wonderful but on my own I can just see the scales tipping as I eat it alone :-) I try to preserve as much of possible of everything to see us through winter in the UK.
Have you got a blog I can follow as there seems to be no profile for you? Diane
What a beautiful late summer setting of flowers and fruit. It's almost autumn and the cooler air will be arriving soon.
ReplyDeleteVelva the cooler air has certainly arrived here in the evenings, but during the day in the sun it is very hot. We are having beautiful weather at the moment, in fact it is just about perfect. Diane
ReplyDeleteWhat a harvest you have! I would love to have a fig tree. :) I love your pictures, especially the first one of the pampas grass...really beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWhen you go back later you are going to look like a farmer going to market. When you make a stop, do not be surprised if people ask to buy the produce.
ReplyDeleteYou and Lindy both have so many varieties of plants in your gardens and yards.
You have changed your photo at the top. That must be the "Red sky in the morning, Sailor take warning" sky. Beautiful and the colors are perfect for fall.
Looking at all the flowers you would think that its spring in South Africa and not fall in France.
ReplyDeleteFaith it is an amazing fig tree, regarless of the weather it just seems to produce year in and year out. I also love the pampas it is so pretty at this time of the year. Diane
ReplyDeleteMya I will have everything covered in the car so no fear of anyone trying to shop from me LOL.
ReplyDeleteThat sky was really was 'red sky in the morning sailor's warning' as it was followed by a huge storm. It is very dramatic though.
Diane
Firefly we have more flowers this year in September than I remember before. The weather is still fantastic during the day with blue skies and temperatures well over 22C. We have had only 218mm of rain since I arrived in March so all is very dry. What we have had has come in storms and large quantities all at once. It is now much cooler in the evenings but not that bad yet. Diane
ReplyDeleteIs this normal for so much to grow at the end of summer early autumn wow such a variety :))
ReplyDeletePhilip we are still having beautiful weather, in fact I now see there are some more butternuts appearing and 3 new pumpkins!! It will be interesting to see if they get big enough before I leave mid-October. We are going down to 10C at night but during the day the skies are blue and the sun is hot with temperature well over 22C. There does not look like much change in the next 10 days :-) Diane
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