Tuesday 25 November 2008

La Sainte Cathérine

On the French calendar, provided for us each year by the local fire service, today 25th November is Sainte Cathérine's day.  And the saying which everyone here repeats whenever tree-planting is mentioned is: À la Sainte Cathérine tout bois prend racine.  On Saint Catherine's day all wood takes root.  This is the season for planting trees and shrubs.  We've already planted two cherry tree cuttings, a fig tree and our lemon tree.  Today on this special day for planting we put in a Pyracantha coccinea shrub, which will have red berries.

planting pyracantha_1_1
Pyracantha coccinea
Pyracantha coccinea_1_1 Pretty red stems and dark green leaves

Aujourd'hui, la Sainte-Cathérine, en suivant le dicton ' À la Sainte Cathérine tout bois prend racine', nous avons planté un buisson de Pyracantha coccinea.

The lemon tree seems happy in its new sunny corner, the flowers are opening and the fruit is ripening.  We've covered it with a sort of 'tent' for the next few days as cold nights are forecast.

lemon flower november_1_2_1 lemon tree tent_1_1_1

Le citronier va bien dans son coin ensoleillé.  Les fleurs ouvrent et le fruit mûrit.  Nous l'avons couvert d'une sorte de 'tente' pour les prochains jours parceque des nuits froids sont prévues.

Today's harvest / Le moisson d'aujourd'hui

St Catz harvest_1_1

Leeks, turnips, rosemary, oregano and sage

poireaux, navets, romarin, oregane, sauge

1 comment:

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...

A lovely custom to adhere to plant the trees. What sort of lemon tree have you planted. I have one by the name of Eureka. It is a true Lemon with a thick rind. I also have a Meyer Lemon but it is quite susceptible to the fruitfly which is a real menace here.
Vegetables and herbs for winter soups look great.