Garden

A garden in the South of France, who doesn't dream of this? Follow along with me as I trip over garden tools and mistake weeds for exotic grass varieties. 

Dig in to one the following stories and thank you for sharing your own gardening adventures, in the comments box:

 

It began in the flower-seed aisle at Carrefour, after tossing an extra packet of sunflower graines* into the shopping cart. I looked up at my husband's face to assess his disapproval. "You know you'll need to water them?" said he. (continued, here)

 

I am a slow learner, in many respects, and this may be why it took me so long to begin to know how to garden: truth is, it wasn't until my forty-first year that I learned how to make a dent in the earth. (continued, here...)

 

 

Our neighbor, Jean-Marie, stopped by the other day to drop off a forklift--something we needed for our latest mise-en-bouteille. While Jean-Marie was here, I took the opportunity to ask him a few questions about gardening. (continued, here...)

 

Braise-The-Dog has been banned from the garden after a series of "neck-breaking" no-no's (that is, if vegetable stems can be said to have necks). Bref,* here's a recap of her recent crimes... (continued here...)

 

 

Gardening's so much more fun... with friends...

As soon as I met Malou and Doreen ("the Dirt Divas"), they took me under their wings as they would take anyone with a longing to learn about plants, flowers and even cisterns! (continued, here...)

 

Take a new path each day. Shake things up. Do the unexpected. 

These things run through my mind as I type, fresh dirt beneath my fingernails, along this chattering clavier.

Story continues, here...

 

I don't know much about history...
... geography ...
(or even plants and trees)

and so I'm starting with morning glories...  (continued, here)

 

How To Prune Lavender (A Provençal Parody)... First, go rooting through your kitchen drawers for scissors. Grab the first pair you find. Next, head out to Lavender Alley... (continued, here)

 

 

I hope my husband will be delighted by the changes taking place here at home: this, thanks to some jardinage!* After losing electricity, week before last, it finally occurred to me to throw all that nervous energy into digging... (continued, here)

 

 

 ...I tried to imagine where we would put the little olive tree amidst the tractors and piles of broken cement. Now six weeks into renovation, the front terrace of our farmhouse is a stockyard of old doors, wooden crates, and broken concrete. (continued, here)

 

One by one, I pulled the seed packets from the plastic sack. There were future crunchy radishes, melt-in-your-mouth betteraves,* cocktail onions, "Reminiscent of My American Roots" Corn, Charentais* Frenchy melon, sweet peas or "pois de senteur," Not-So-Loopy Lupine, Trailer Park Petunias... (continued, here)

 

The land on which I lie is one level down from the vineyard. It once held fruit trees... which became diseased, then a kitchen garden... and a few sunflowers (how I'd toiled in vain. Dragging the garden hose all the way out to the field... and how I'd stared, stunned to see the radish seeds up and march off indefinitely... thanks to an army of ants who saw an opportunity.) (continued...)

The French word "piquer" means "to swipe." It is my mom's favorite verb in French or English--not that she's a klepto--though you might call her a "clipper"...

In the town of Orange, Mom and I are studying plant life.... (continued, here)

Check back soon... more gardening stories are on the way!

Learning with The Plant Whisperer...

A Message from Kristi: Ongoing support from readers like you keeps me writing and publishing this free language journal each week. If you find joy or value in these stories and would like to keep this site going, donating today will help so much. Thank you for being a part of this community and helping me to maintain this site and its newsletter.

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For more online reading: The Lost Gardens: A Story of Two Vineyards and a Sobriety

Comments

[Jules Greer]

Don't forget to put the story of my lilac bush.
I love that photo of us, when I see it I am flooded with all the memories of that special day. I remember every second (in detail) of that day.

XOXO

MOM

[Eileen deCamp]

Hi Kristin,
I loved reading through your gardening stories. I loved the photo of the Queyras Valley of the French Hautes-Alpes. Gorgeous! The story about Monsieur Farjon was so sweet!
I can't wait to begin gardening. I am planting my front field in lavender in April.

[Julie F in St. Louis, MO]

With all of these gardening stories I feel one step closer to spring. Last Saturday I went to a class at a local garden shop to learn about the principles of French potager gardens. Now if I just had three acres to design one like all of those chateaus. But les jonquilles are starting to poke their tips through the soil. So nice to see something green again.

[Cameron]

Kristin, I am a subscriber to your blog and love the word-a-day arriving in my email. My husband also subscribes.

For the fourth year in a row, we are returning to France this spring. This year, we'll be in Paris for 9 days, then Provence (Aix based) for a week. It seems that April (we usually go in May) there will not be many gardens in bloom in France.

I am an avid gardener. Here in North Carolina, my specialty is deer resistant flower gardening without fences or repellents. So, I'm happy to read about your gardening experiences, too!

Thank you so much for your entertaining and informative stories!

Freda Cameron

[Heather Donaldson]

Kristen, I have a wonderful white flower garden in Canada that readers in a canadian gardening magazine voted a few years back as one of their 10 favourites. I had a landscape architect design it - and my late husband and I followed his plan. Of course anyone can plan and plant - but there are centuries of phenomenal experts who have leant their expertise to fabulous gardens around the world. We don't give a child a piano and say - go create your masterpiece, and I think the same analogy holds for creating beautiful gardens. Use the expertise available. It is not that expensive and can save many costly mistakes.

[Stacy, Applegate, Oregon]

Delightful! I adore the garden section! It brings to mind a favorite garden shop, filled with beautiful sights and treasures. Where while visiting, one just might run into a dear friend…and leave with a smile and a lovely idea or two.

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[highlands ranch landscape]

I really like the garden section! It delivers to thoughts a preferred lawn store, loaded with wonderful attractions and secrets.