I've spent a fortune in the garden centre!

The great thing about this garden is that we are spending a lot less on it than we did on our last garden - however I did go mad last week! I've always wanted some citrus fruits and an olive tree, and they are all very expensive. I also ordered an arch to go over our bench out in the front garden, and that arrived last week. Keith erected the whole thing himself, with me checking with the spirit level then basically just looking and doing it by eye, as it's practically imposible to get the posts in perfectly straight, especially when you have stony soil! He also gave most of it a darker stain as it was supposed to be dark brown (to match the bench and shutters etc), only it wasn't anything like the colour of the online picture. Never mind, hopefully in a few years it will be covered with climbers and not very noticeable.

The next photos are once it was in its permanent position with the wooden legs inside the metal booties (or whatever they are called) which are hammered into the ground. I chose a light blue clematis for one side (couldn't find a dark blue, annoyingly) and a bignone (Campsis radicans) for the other side. That is an orange, trumpet like vine which is quite vigorous, so I might be having to keep it well pruned! We also planted a buddleia between the last bambooey thing and the hedge. This will be my third attempt at growing buddleia. So far out of two shrubs I have had one white butterfly on one and a moth on the other, and not that many flowers either. So much for calling them butterfly bushes! But I will not be put off..... 😀

The really good news is that the soil was much better here than where I made my herb bed. I think because that was beside a wall next to the house, where the ground had been levelled with machinery, it's possible that clay subsoil got dumped there. A shame for the herbs, but they are all growing well now and every one got a good inch or two of gravel underneath them for drainage.

Part of the view from the bench:

I hadn't noticed that you can see the old windmill from the bench - this is a zoomed in pic from my phone so not very good quality (all the pics are phone ones) - originally in the 19th century there were three windmills on that bit of hill but this is the only one that remains. We can't go in it as there is an old millkeepers house next to it which presumably belongs to someone as it isn't derelict.

Here is my new olive tree - it has been pruned in a pompom fashion (that's what it said on the label). I guess it is the beginning of cloud pruning, although I don't want to keep it so clipped as that, but as I'm planting it in the back garden I do want the size constrained a bit, so think this is a good shape.

Do you like my rusty ornaments? I wish I had bought a couple more now! I got them from a Xmas market we went to soon after moving here.

I bought a Meyer lemon which you can see in the background, that tiny tree cost about 40 euros. However I was so chuffed to find out that I could buy a "Lime Leaf plant"! This is the kind of lime that we use in Thai cooking, mostly for the leaves. I haven't ever used the lime fruit before but they are supposed to add an interesting flavour to Asian dishes, so can't wait to get some fruit on it. The lime tree is much bigger than the lemon and cost a whopping 80 euros!!! The olive was 80 euros too, but I was expecting to pay more, to be honest. Add in the shrubs and climbers that I bought, plus some lavenders and an oregano, and you will understand the title of this post!

The tulips are flowering now and I'm really pleased that the colour goes so well with the pansies.

I have been learning decoupage from the many tutorials online. It's not easy doing it with napkin paper as it's so thin (you only use the ply with the printing on it), but doing this kind of decoupage where you cut out the paper in shapes is a lot easier than trying to put whole napkins on the bottom of a tray, which I have also done. That one is not photo worthy 😀, well it's not finished yet anyway. But you have to practice to gain experience.

This one below was originally a green and white striped planter, but I don't like green in my house unless it's a plant!

I meant to take photos of the cherry and plum trees which are covered in blossom but that will have to wait until the next post, as I want to get this published. We are going out tomorrow to the coast, to an area we went to with the birding group last year. First an area of old salt pans which had waders, then a disused quarry that had resident Blue Rock Thrushes, then up the hill to a big area of garrigue. I hope there will be some interesting wild flowers blooming. 

President Macron is due to discuss the virus/lockdown with his cronies tomorrow, and we fear another lockdown on the cards, as the Kent variant is on the spread. Paris and north east France are already in lockdown. Anyhow, I am very pleased for you lot in the UK now you have semi freedom after your awful three month long lockdown. I have felt for you, what a bloody nightmare that must have been.

Take care xx