A Little "Troc" 'l do ya !!

This weekend is a bank holiday and a variety of gardens are opened to the public nationally. Seemed our scene so, up early this morning and off to a medieval village - Cardaillac - near Figeac, where there was a garden crawl. We packed a picnic but our local boulangerie was closed so we were on the look out for a bakers en route. We don't go to this area of the Lot very often so we took the opportunity to have a look around some of the interesting villages that we encountered. We found a bakers at Assier and also a magnificent Rennaissance Chateau, which requires closer inspection in the future.

On to Cardaillac where we began our walk around 13 gardens. What a diversity of gardens, ranging from the totally bizarre to a fully functional Bio potager. One garden just contained a medieval tower. Apparently it had originally housed the staircase for an adjoining house which had been demolished during a religious war; the village was evidently protestant at this time. In the 19th century the top part of the tower had been converted into a pigonnier for pigeon rearing however now it was a fully functional holiday home and we were shown round by the very proud owners. It was beautifully restored and they had even found perfectly proportioned old furniture for the limited space. They said that the Planning Office thought they were totally mad when they submitted the plans!! All the garden owners were charming and so welcoming.

The last lady we visited had a "cottage garden" and she duly presented me with a posy she had made because it was Mothers Day. We got on like a house on fire and she was soon pulling up plants for me to take home (all carefully wrapped in wet tissue to ensure safe arrival).

In the afternoon we headed for an English garden where they were to have a plant Troc. Generally "Trocs" are secondhand stores but for gardening purposes they are a plant exchange. So, from my previous experience, I went armed with some of my unwanted cuttings and seedlings.

The jardiniere and her husband were a couple after our own hearts and we gleened lots of interesting information..... might even join their gardening club. As you can see I came away with more goodies than I took.

It turned out that their house was very near one of the villages designated as "one of the prettiest villages in France" so we took the opportunity to explore the village and the adjacent waterfall.

What a nice day.