Where Did Summer Go? We're Pruning Already.

May's post was all about planting, so it's difficult to believe that we've just returned from France having pruned our field of flowers. Lavender should be pruned every year to keep them compact and to prevent them becoming woody. We used secateurs to remove flower stalks and about a third of this year’s growth, making sure that some green growth remained.

Our lavender, like this one on the left, looks quite spindly, but for their first summer, we're very pleased that 80% survived the brutal heat. We had no choice but to plant and then leave them to the elements for 6 weeks while we came back to our UK jobs. It wasn't ideal but next spring we'll replace the ones that didn't survive.

Here's the same plant after a haircut! Pruning is usually done in late summer after flowering, unless they’re being grown for their oil in which case, they should be cut just after flowering. The down side of this is that you miss their beauty and colour throughout summer. I suppose it’s a bit like the old saying, you can’t have your cake and eat it! (Which always struck me as silly because if I had cake it would definitely be eaten!) It was back-breaking work and for almost a week we were walking around like centenarians. So now our field has been mowed, weeded, cut back and put to bed for the winter. Unfortunately our abundant crop of fruit went unused this season but thankfully our lovely neighbours, both English and French, made use of some of it by picking cherries during summer. I'm looking forward to learning how to make pickles and chutneys. Here are some of the photographs I took around our land this summer. You can click on the recipe titles below.

Blackberry jam recipe.

Grapes. What else but wine!

Apples. Toffee apple upside-down cake recipe.

Plums. Plum chutney recipe.

Walnuts. Walnut cake recipe.

We also have the beginnings of a drive and front wall. We used metal gabions filled with with white stone - robust and heavy enough to hold back built up earth. Next year we'll back-fill behind the cages and plant flowers on top to soften the lines. The driveway runs in front and to the side of our barn but only the base has been laid this year. We're waiting until we've built our new house before we lay the top layer. It definitely looks a lot tidier than the overgrown cacti and weeds that were previously growing there! Now we're back in England waiting for our house to sell and counting down until our big move. I wish I had a crystal ball to see if we will have crossed the channel before Christmas. I've been making some jewellery this afternoon - lavender flowers set in resin. When they've hardened and I've attached them to chains or earring findings, I'll write an extra post about how to make them.

A Flying New Year Visit

Following a seemingly relentless sixteen-hour car journey from Nottingham to Charente, we arrived with trailer still attached to the tow bar. Paul and I were taking building materials and a rotovator to store in our barn, ready for renovating the building and planting in springtime.

It was dark when we reached Aubeterre-sur-Dronne, but the smell was unmistakable. Sweet woodsmoke and the aroma of the Linden trees were redolent of a perfume. Christmas lights were strung around the square and a frost glittered on surfaces – even the statue of Ludovic Trarieux looked as if he’d had a sparkly makeover.

The following morning we drove a few miles to the tiny hamlet of Bellon and unloaded the trailer. I make that sound easy, but everything felt incredibly heavy in freezing fog and drizzle.

Paul and I walked around the field and the task ahead seemed so much more daunting than we'd first anticipated. It’s amazing how much the verdant canopies, long grass and fat hedgerows of summer, hide overgrown trees, un-pruned bushes and neglected land. It also became clear that our field was overrun by rabbits, which meant the added expense of rabbit proofing the perimeter. I love rabbits, but I’m sure they love eating lavender plants too!

A very welcome surprise was to be invited into a neighbour’s house for hot mulled wine and mince pies. Andy and Sal are also renovating their property in Bellon. They say that the sunsets are beautiful and if you’ve seen my Facebook timeline, you’ll know that I have a weakness for tangerine skies.

Paul and I spent New Year’s Eve in Aubeterre Square, waving sparklers and dancing to Leonard Cohen’s, Dance Me To The End Of Love. Have you ever watched the film, Scent Of A Woman? Here is a beautiful clip where Al Pacino, a blind, retired soldier, dances with Gabrielle Anwar to this incredible song. Click for song.