Well, it has now been more than 2 years since our dream came true and the French Adventure continues.
We have had a busy 2 years or so and nearly all of our time during each visit has been dedicated to the garden, or as I keep saying 'the taming of the field'. It really is not possible to have a garden like we do in England out here in this area of France, if you rely of holiday breaks to attend to things.
Every shurb we have planted has grown without any problems, as a result of the mixture of the rain and sunshire here in the Creuse, but that also means the weeds and grass grow quickly as well. We have only succeeded by finding a reliable local to regularly give the grass a cut and it is essential this is done every 2 weeks in the height of the season, otherwise the field take overs!
We have put lots of effort every visit into weeding in the shurb borders and it appears that our hard work is starting to bring success. Weeding is getting less, as the shrubs grow stronger and compete for the space and light.
We have had a busy 2 years or so and nearly all of our time during each visit has been dedicated to the garden, or as I keep saying 'the taming of the field'. It really is not possible to have a garden like we do in England out here in this area of France, if you rely of holiday breaks to attend to things.
Every shurb we have planted has grown without any problems, as a result of the mixture of the rain and sunshire here in the Creuse, but that also means the weeds and grass grow quickly as well. We have only succeeded by finding a reliable local to regularly give the grass a cut and it is essential this is done every 2 weeks in the height of the season, otherwise the field take overs!
We have put lots of effort every visit into weeding in the shurb borders and it appears that our hard work is starting to bring success. Weeding is getting less, as the shrubs grow stronger and compete for the space and light.
Around the perimeter we have planted around 400 Berbris bushes in an effort to create some definition and keep weeds out and these are growing strong. We have used grass clippings as a mulch inbetween and around each bush to make weeding easier and it has helped loads.
At the recommendation of a local friend, we have also started to use wood chippings as a mulch covering in the borders to help keep the weeds down. The best thing is we have found a wood yard that lets us load up and takeway some chippings. The owner would not accept any Euro payment and even seemed disgusted when I presented him a bottle of fine wine in thanks. Perhaps my choice of wine was not agreeable!!
At the recommendation of a local friend, we have also started to use wood chippings as a mulch covering in the borders to help keep the weeds down. The best thing is we have found a wood yard that lets us load up and takeway some chippings. The owner would not accept any Euro payment and even seemed disgusted when I presented him a bottle of fine wine in thanks. Perhaps my choice of wine was not agreeable!!
