La bouillie bordelaise

As we cycled towards this wall, I thought it was a painting until we got up close and I realised that the blue is due to bouillie bordelaise, a pesticide consisting of copper sulphate, slaked lime and water used to prevent mildew. Mildew was first observed in 1878 on grapevines in the south-west of France. …

Clematis in the Holly – Clématite dans le houx

The clematis had climbed 2/3 of the way up the holly before I realised what was going on – it was supported to grow on the wall of the garage on the right! But in fact its chosen path is much more exciting. The holly is also in flower which means we’ll have lots of …

Célestine Citroën

My friend Celestine Citroën came to visit yesterday with her master, Simon from Loire Valley Time Travel which offers private tours of the Loire Valley aboard Celestine and her sister Claudette. I thought she added some class to our quiet street. Ma copine Célestine Citroën est venue me rendre visite hier avec son maître Simon …

Wisteria – Glycines

When we left home today to cycle to Château de Chaumont (it’s been too cold up until now for much cycling), I was so enamoured of our wisteria that I decided that I would take photos of any other wisteria we passed on the cycle path. The results are below. Which is your favourite? Lorsque …

The Green Gate – Le portail vert

Today, Jean Michel finished the wooden gate he made to replace the one below on our “little house” next door. Unfortunately I forgot to take a “before” photo! The colour is Basque green. Aujourd’hui Jean Michel a terminé le portail en bois qu’il a fabriqué pour remplacer celui qui se trouve ci-dessous qui ferme notre …