Thursday 10 September 2015

Our Front Garden


Most of the time when I write gardening updates you see pictures from the vegetable garden and not our front garden mainly because our front garden is a Work In Progress ... and has been really ever since we moved in.  Slowly, though, it is taking shape.

The access from the door to where we park the car has been through various transformations over our 8 years here - horrible weedy gravel, mud, more mud and fine gravel.  We thought the fine gravel would work only to find it stuck to out shoes and migrated into the house at a horrifying rate.  Even if we remembered to wipe our feet, some still got in and the animals never remembered to wipe their paws.  It wasn't too bad in the dry but after rain it was awful.  Something needed to be done before winter. 

A while back Simon did some work for his sister in England and afterwards had a piles of paving slabs left over ... so he stuck them in the back of the 4x4 and brought them over to France.  Now we have a lovely path with slabs and gravel that is big enough NOT to stick to our feet.  Quelle relief ... and it looks bloomin' good too.

So today I give you some random pictures from our front garden .... with enough close-ups not to show all the work that still needs doing!

I'll start you with part of the new path and planted central bed (plus some piping ready for an electricity cable for when we decide on"something" later on!).






This old wagon wheel rests against our front wall and was rescued from our local déchetterie (dump).  Lemon verbena is growing in front of it.






A cat will always find a sunny sheltered spot and Henry can be found all over the garden depending on where best he can get warm and comfy.  Today it was squashed between some pots and our fire brazier ...



 But previously it has been the BBQ ...



 Or guarding the front door ...




The orange tree and geranium were both birthday presents and I am wondering how to overwinter them.  The polytunnel will not stay warm enough so they may well have to come inside later in the year.



Most people might think that the flowers of the passion flower are it's best feature.  I certainly love the flowers but it was it's leaves and tendrils that caught my eye a couple of evenings ago.  I can see fairies dancing in the fading evening light.  Can you?



Finally, summer may still be hanging on here with some glorious warm days, but we know this won't last for ever.  When the cold weather arrives and we light our wood burner we'll be glad of this wood, stored in the garden and ready for easy access on cold nights.



How is your garden looking?  Is summer still hanging on or has autumn arrived?  For more garden gloriousness head on over to the How Does Your Garden Grow linky run by Annie from Mammasaurus.


Mammasaurus

22 comments :

  1. Ah it nice to see this 'side' of your garden Rosie. I was sat here nodding to myself thinking 'I saw that!'. Blimey that seems like an age ago now doesn't it? I see what you mean about those tendrils - all very ethereal!
    Henry has the right idea- seek out the sunshine! :)
    Thanks for joining in again Rosie - I hope your back is behaving now x

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    1. Well I can assure you the porch is no nearer being finished but the new path is such an improvement. We love out little patio area and with the fire brazier we can stay out even when it is a bit chilly. My back is fine at the moment, thank you and I am off for some physio next week.

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  2. definite fairies. our garden has been somewhat neglected because we are moving but at least it's been raining just about daily so at least everything is nice and green

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    1. I didn't see them until I looked at the photo though but now that is all I can see. When should you be on the move?

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  3. I think I need to copy Henry and look for sun to chillax in. It must be beautifully fragrant in the front garden too with the verbena and Lemon tree.

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    1. It is fragrant but the gite has the best scent with a Japanese Rose that smells divine.

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  4. It's lovely to see another part of your garden, especially one so beautifully accessorised with the cats! And yes, definitely fairies! #hdygg

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  5. Love that photo of the passion flower tendrils. And, I love that path. This is the kind of thing we need to do to just tidy things up a bit... :) #hdygg

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    1. Making the path has made such a difference to the front garden .. and should make it easier to walk over in the winter.

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  6. Nice to see some snippets from your front garden. Your path looks great - built from well travelled slabs :) You're right, cats do always find the sun. Our family has a black and white cat that is exactly the same. He will sit in the smallest patch of sun he can find...

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    1. Thank you, Gemma. Using well travelled and well walked slabs meant we missed out the totally new look and went straight for comfortably worn. They also give plenty of places for Henry to sit!

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  7. We have small stones in our front garden but it does drive me crazy when the stones get kicked onto th driveway or the front door step. I seem to be the only person who is bothered by this as well!

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    1. These didn't get kicked in, they came in by the shoe-full sticking to your shoe soles. It drove Simon and me mad but the boys were blissfully unaware of it!! The new path is so much better and it goes as far as the animal feed shed which had always got muddy in winter.

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  8. Oh I just love that passion flower photograph. It too reminds me of dancing fairies. How lovely. That stone issue sounds like a complete nightmare! Your new stones look lovely :)

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  9. I just have the problem of stones escaping off my very small front/driveway by being kicked and the car shifting them. I try and soften the front of the house with window boxes, seasonal pots and a couple of gargoyles and a lantern. I would love that wagon wheel and I think I'll have a few of those fairies too :) The gargoyles would quite like them skipping about the place.

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  10. Yes to the fairies! I love how different times of day make you see plants in a different way. Our garden is looking rather 'end of season', and also has a huge amount of mushrooms growing in the lawn thanks to rotting tree roots - so it's lovely to take a tour round your much prettier front garden!

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  11. we had two wagon wheels, one was stolen so we had to chain the remising one which we left behind in the UK in our garden, that one has been stolen also recently, the chain was cut

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    1. That is so sad - we have anther wheel on a bed near the gite but it weighs a tonne!

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