Spring rush.

All of a sudden we are aware of approaching spring. The Tits are feeding madly from the fat balls we have hanging, we can hear a pair of 'falcons' calling throughout the day (can't identify them accurately), buds are swelling on the trees, and we've found a tree up on the hillside which we don't recognise but which has just come into blossom with lovely small yellow flowers.

All of these obvious signs of Spring are starting to put pressure on us. There are so many jobs we feel we want to get done before things start growing. I haven't finished chopping all of the ivy on the trees, we want to trim back overhanging branches where we will be making paths and beds, we need to sow some grass seed on areas of the front lawn where we've tried to do some levelling, and I want to mow the grass where we will be having our vegetable plot so that Sue can mark it all out. Once she's done that, she will be spraying with weed-killer to try to get clean ground before we dig out the beds.


So, we are trying to make the most use of every dry day, before we get preoccupied with the house. Today we were clearing the last of the rubbish from our 'rubbish heap' and I was lopping off the branches of the overhanging trees along the top edge of the front garden. We want to plant a row of cherry trees out from the existing mature trees and we want to give them plenty of room and light. It's not the cutting down of the branches which takes the time, it's the clearing up afterwards.



Every day I check the weather forecast on the computer and it keeps showing a fairly unsettled spell. Tomorrow, Friday, we have our weekly French lesson, and then we are planning to go to a couple of Garden Centres that we've found on Yellow Pages. We are trying to source both the trees and shrubs that we want and/or that will thrive in this climate. It's all a learning experience. But at least we have got the summer months to prepare the ground before we start planting in earnest. As I was clearing the tools away this evening a man came walking down the hill with his dog. As is the way here in France, I greeted him and we got talking. He told me that he was a gardener and he repeated the advice which all of the locals keep giving us. Trees and shrubs should be planted out on St. Catherines day (end of October) to give them chance to develop their roots before the growing season. He commented that we are tidying up around the house, (he has seen it before and talked to the previous owners) and it is encouraging when other people see the work we are putting in. But still plenty more to do!!!