Here's a photo of the house. It's not a view that people normally see. It's taken from the north side of the property, looking south.
Our street runs on the opposite, or south, side of the house, just behind the hedge you can see in the right side of the picture.
And here's more evidence of the approaching spring. Above is a wisteria bud. I planted the vine in 2006 and this will be it's second full year. There are plenty of flower buds, but what I really want to see are some tendrils that will take it up the side of the house. I'll let you know how it does later in the season.
This is a standard hyacinth,
jacinthe in French. There are about six of them that I moved from one part of the yard to another and they seem to be doing fine where they are now.
We also have two camelias (above) on either side of the garage door. I don't think they're in the right place since they don't get much sun. I cut them down to the ground, hoping to kill them, one year. They've come back of course and they look ok. But they don't flower as nicely as the one we had in San Francisco. Still, they provide a little greenery next to the garage doors, so what the heck.
Our street runs on the opposite, or south, side of the house, just behind the hedge you can see in the right side of the picture.
And here's more evidence of the approaching spring. Above is a wisteria bud. I planted the vine in 2006 and this will be it's second full year. There are plenty of flower buds, but what I really want to see are some tendrils that will take it up the side of the house. I'll let you know how it does later in the season.
This is a standard hyacinth, jacinthe in French. There are about six of them that I moved from one part of the yard to another and they seem to be doing fine where they are now.
We also have two camelias (above) on either side of the garage door. I don't think they're in the right place since they don't get much sun. I cut them down to the ground, hoping to kill them, one year. They've come back of course and they look ok. But they don't flower as nicely as the one we had in San Francisco. Still, they provide a little greenery next to the garage doors, so what the heck.
Your garden has fragrance as well as color. And probably bird song. I especially envy you for your camellias (and your early spring). I would trade you all my wisteria tendrils for a few more flowers. Please, when your wisteria blooms, post a photo.
ReplyDeleteHi Walt,
ReplyDeleteDo camillias need sun in your area? Ours grow and bloom nicely on the north side of the house under a huge tree. I don't think they get any direct sun at all. When they slow down, I fertilize them, and then they bloom better the next year.
Hi Walt -
ReplyDeleteI saw your comment on Owen's blog and I was wondering how long you had to live in your town before you could apply for the CDS. Did you do it entirely by mail, or did you originally have to go to an office (Préfecture or l'Hotel de Ville)?
Hi Walt,
ReplyDeleteLike Chris's, our camellias bloom nicely with indirect sun. We lost a couple that were in complete, dark, gloom-of-night shade, but the rest were fine. It looks like yours have added a nice spot of color to your yard.
...Susan
Terrific photos, Walt! Spring IS on the way then! You wouldn't have said so, over here with the chilly wind and grey skies of today.
ReplyDeletelouise, the birds are definitely out there singing, and the cuckoos should be arriving over the next few weeks. And don't worry, wisteria photos will happen!
ReplyDeletechris, actually, they probably don't need so much sun - in SF ours was on the north side of a fence, and then there was a lot of fog...
starman, yes, originally we did have to go in person, then after we did it through the mail and only had to go in to pick up the CDS (they pasted it into our passports). Now it's a separate card and they send it to our mairie. Our préfecture is 45 mins away, so it's much better that we don't have to go all the way there.
susan, our camellias get dappled morning sun in the summer, so I guess they're in a good spot after all!
claude, with the recent low temperatures, it looks like winter is hanging on for a bit.