Spring planning

The garden today, at the beginning of this new gardening year, with most of the beds now covered with goat manure.

This morning we spent some time in the sun in the garden, planning this year’s planting and pruning the apple tree and the roses.

 

The autumn-sown beans (left) are growing well and have recovered from the frost we had a few weeks ago.  We’ve transplanted some lamb’s lettuce seedlings (above) into  some of the lovely compost we’ve made

 

Our first crocus of the year is flowering and another one will be out soon.

 

This Red Admiral butterfly was enjoying the sun.

 

The chard leaves are beginning to grow again now that the weather is a bit warmer, so we picked some to make one of our favourite quick lunches – pasta mixed with chard, pancetta or cured ham and chopped garlic, topped with grated cheese and put under the grill to brown.

It (almost) never rains …

Believe it or not, this photo was taken in the middle of the day … and so were these:

The rain will be good for the garden, but for today it means we can’t do any gardening.

 

It’s time to eat comforting autumn food like this rabbit and chorizo casserole, with some of the last courgettes of the season, and a glass of red wine.

 

 

 

 

This may have been the last butterfly of the summer, in the garden last weekend when we were sowing broad beans and peas.

First aubergine and a new watering system / La première aubergine et un nouveau système d'arrosage

In spite of the locusts and the Colorado beetles, our aubergine plants are doing well, with a lot of small aubergines growing.  Today we ate the first one, grilled on the barbecue and garnished with thyme, oregano, olive oil and chopped garlic - it tasted wonderful.

Malgré les criquets et les scarabées, nos plants d'aubergine poussent bien avec beaucoup de petites aubergines.  Aujourd'hui nous en avons mangé la première de la saison, garnie de thym, oreganum, huile d'olive et ail haché - elle était delicieuse!

1st aubergine and 74th courgette!

Another new watering system / un autre nouveau système d'arrosage

Throughout the summer we're constantly thinking about better ways to water the garden.  The terracotta pot system which Kate from Hills and Plains seedsavers devised has worked really well for beans and garlic and we'll use it for other crops - leaf vegetables like chard next, probably.

Pendant l'été nous pensons toujours des façons d'arroser le jardin.  Le système de pots en terrecuite conçu par Kate de Hills and Plains seedsavers a marché bien pour les haricots et l'ail et nous l'utiliserons pour des autres légumes - les blettes peut-être.

Now we are trying a new system for watering the tomato and pepper plants.  We bought two plastic dustbins which can be filled with water from the stream whenever it is running.  Lo Jardinièr has fixed siphon tubes from the bins which lead via taps to slow drip hoses in the rows of tomatoes and peppers.  The taps can be turned on in the evening and left so that the water in the bins slowly drips into the soil between the plants.

Maintenant nous essayons un nouveau système pour l'arrosage des tomates et des poivrons.  On a acheté deux poubelles en plastique qui on peut remplir de l'eau du ruisseau.  Lo Jardinièr a mis un tuyau pour siphonner l'eau en passant par un robinet et puis par un tuyau goutte à goutte à la terre entre les rangs.

The leek flower is covered with insects.

The sunflowers are blooming.

And here is a cicada in the apricot tree.

And we've had so many Swallowtail butterflies in the garden this year that I couldn't resist a few more photos of them:

Market shopping and butterfly spotting / Le marché et les papillons

Saturday is market day in Pézenas. It’s always fun but it’s especially colourful and busy in the summer. / Samedi est le jour du marché à Pézenas. On s’y régale toujours mais surtout en été.

We bought almond croissants for our breakfast and took them to the Café des Arts to eat with our coffee. Sorry, I forgot to photograph them! / Nous avons acheté des croissants d’amande et nous les avons apporté au Café des Arts pour les manger avec du café. Je m’excuse – j’ai oublié de les photographer!

Stalls line the long main street – clothes, sea food, charcuterie, olives, household goods ….

A fruit and vegetable stall in Occitan colours	Lots of cheese
and colourful terracotta pots to cook it all in.	Des tagines et des casseroles en terrecuite.

At home the garden was full of butterflies. There seem to be a lot of the this year. / Le jardin était plein de papillons. Il me semble qu’il y en a beaucoup cette année.

The butterflies love the lavender flowers. I haven’t identified these yet, except the Marbled white (top right). Les papillons aiment les fleurs de lavande. Je n’ai pas les identifié encore sauf le Blanc Marbré (en haut, a gauche).	Pairs of swallowtails were chasing each other around, too. I posted photos of these the other day.

First tomatoes! / Les premières tomates!

We ate the first ripe Yellow Pear tomatoes. They’re small – a variety of cherry tomato.

On a mangé les premières tomates mures Yellow Pear. Elles sont petites – c’est une varieté de tomate cerise.