I have two things to tell you. The first is that I did well on my French test in order to become a citizen. I needed 160 out of 490 for both parts of the exam, and I got 455 on both. So that’s one thing down in French paperwork, a billion others to go.
The second thing is that I’m using our old, inferior lens for the photos in this post since we didn’t receive the shipment with the adjustment yet. Now. On to garden news.
Things are a’ budding!
Hazelnut Tree
Hydrangea – this thing was dead at one point and got resurrected. Never give up! Never surrender!
The tulip tree or magnolia tree – forgot what it’s called.
It’s funny how in another part of the garden it didn’t grow nearly as tall (planted at the same time) but it buds more quickly.
Peach tree. My kids call this tree ‘Alistair’ since we planted it to remember the baby we lost through miscarriage. “Alistair is growing things!” they say. I wish I had known how fragile peach trees were when I chose it as a remembrance tree. You don’t precisely want a tree that barely hangs on year after year to commemorate a baby who was unable to.
The flowering plum tree. This is why I painted a wall in my kitchen pink.
Because the tree flowers pink and then has plum-colored leaves through to autumn.
Each year I tell myself that – come late fall – I’m going to plant other hyacinths in white and pink to fill this space out; and each year I forget.
While we’re at it, each year I tell myself I need to move the daffodils because they get squashed under the shutters. And each year I forget.
Some flowers are just so flamboyant, aren’t they?
So let me stop annoying everyone by writing the entire post in captions with tiny print. That whole area outside the kitchen, with the pink prunus and the purple hyacinths? I am just smitten with it. I think I remember telling you that I got rid of one ugly yellow forsythia to replace it with something more colour-appropriate
(no idea what it’s called). And I got rid of the other one and replaced it with … what I think is spirea? The name comes back to me unbidden from growing up with a mom who is a Master Gardener and knows all things plants. This flowers white.
I realised that this is a view I don’t often show you. Standing in part of the garden, looking at the apricot tree (the only one of two that gives fruit) with the outhouse behind it that is now a tool shed, the garage, and our neighbour’s house behind that. They are Portuguese and often grill fish on their patio and it smells really good. 🙂
I also rarely show you this view – standing in the corner of the garden looking at everything. See that wall there?
The owner before us bought the additional property that was beyond the wall, but he never got rid of the wall. In fact, when we bought the house the wall had a chain link fence above it with perfectly trimmed bushes in front of it. We took down the chain link and made a more natural fence (by that, I’m not referring to the one that kept our dog from jumping into the compost pile to the left there, but rather the one shown just below with cut branches woven through posts). We also replaced those bramble bushes with …
Lavender, tulips, irises (and now *new* calalilies – thanks to our wonderful neighbor).
So you know what I’ve been thinking of doing lately? I think I want to take down that wall and make one big open space. I find that I don’t go into the back area as often as I might because the wall is a visual impediment. That means that things get neglected back there, and also that there is a portion of our land not getting used to the full potential.
But if we get rid of the wall (major work, mind you – who knows how deeply they poured the cement?), we will have to equalise the ground, which is on a slope and replant grass. We’ve been meaning to do that anyway because Hunter tore apart our lawn when he ran from one corner to another, barking. (You’ll see that in the photo at the bottom).
So we will also have to find a new home for the lavender, tulips, irises, calalilies, and …
the raspberries on the other side. (These give amazing fruit, but it’s an effort to maintain them because you need to remember where you kept the gloves to ward off all the prickles).
And, perhaps the more pressing problem, we will have to figure out what to do with the kiwi!
We’ve waited nearly five years for fruit (will this be the year)? But they need to grow on something! Right now, they’re growing on this arch and have started along the wall we made. If we remove the wall, and the arch along with it, we’ll have to find another solution for these guys.
So you see what I mean? This is what we are considering in our garden and it will be a lot of work. What would you do in our situation?
So much loveliness! Thank you for sharing. And the loveliest of all? Alistair. Thank you for that part of the post most of all.
Congrats on the exam! That’s huge! I wonder how many people scrape by with the bare minimum.
Our garden is still under snow. I don’t know when I’ll see it again!
Yours is so lovely.
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Congratulations on the test! I love your garden and your gate and your yard and ohhhh I wish I could come sit with you there.
I am jealous of your buds. I am desperate for a few buds and things to get greener around here.
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That looks like a big yard, Jennie, with a wealth of fruit-bearing trees and bushes. How do you find time for everything you do with all the demands on your time? It’s amazing!
I like the wall, because it makes it seem more like an English garden with hidden spots and quiet places. The natural wall is very appealing, too.
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