A Gardener in France

I have to admit to a soft spot for Les Journées des Plantes, the plant fair at the Domaine de Courson, south of Paris. Now in its 26th year, it manages the tricky balance of being seriously good horticulturally, while maintaining the atmosphere of a village fete.

The organisers hold two shows each year; the spring event from 16th-18th May placed it just before Chelsea and may have limited the appeal to UK visitors, while the autumn show was over the weekend of 17th-19th October.

This is one show where we always buy plants, in spite of access to them at wholesale prices elsewhere. Temptations at every turn leave us almost bewildered, with some of Europe’s finest growers offering their choicest varieties to a discerning and appreciative public.

It is an event to make the English “nation of gardeners” sit up and take notice. The French spend far more on plants and flowers each year than the English and the evidence is all around with crowds of amateurs loading their cars with desirable items. Set in the grounds and out-buildings of the chateau, Les Journées des Plantes is supported by a notable jury who give awards across a range of demanding criteria. Members come from across Europe but include our own Roy Lancaster, Michael Hickson and Tom Stuart-Smith.

The fair is about the plants; a number of stands offer accessories and there is a small contingent of landscapers, but most exhibitors are nurserymen and most of these are from France. A few are large enterprises but many are small specialists, ideal for supplying something choice and unusual for your next planting project. There were four nurseries representing the UK this year and a number from Belgium and Holland.

Rarities abound and the show is used by many companies to launch new varieties. It was an education to talk with the array of plantsmen showing their wares and to buy a selection to try in our own or in clients’ gardens. Over the years we have bought Salvias and grasses ahead of their recent resurgence in popularity and our specimen of S. uliginosa was grown from an original bought at Courson several years ago. Some of the few plants we moved from the UK to France in the furniture van were also purchased at the show. This year I spotted the Snow Camellia (Camellia japonica rusticana Nishiki Kirin) and the variegated Camellia sasanqua Okina-Goromo (Old Man’s Coat) and selected a pair for a shady border at the front of our new home in central France.

We wanted a Mimosa and found a nursery from near St. Tropez offering Acacia dealbata Mireille, a large- flowered but dwarf form which will announce spring with its dazzling bunches of scented yellow blossom. This will need a sunny position, but I will ensure I plant a Mahonia media Winter Sun in the shade of a nearby wall, so that the cheering display begins in November and lasts, between the two shrubs, until March.

We bought Lagerstroemia Yang Tse from the specialist grower of this plant, Desmartis of Bergerac. We are assured that this showy pink variety will do well in our Loire Valley climate and, having seen several examples in local town squares, I have great hopes for the evergreen shrub in a warm spot in the back garden.

I loved the new variegated Skimmia Magic Marlot and Acer palmatum Marlo with pink and green leaves, both from C.E.C.E. of Belgium. James Harris of Mallet Court Nursery drew my attention to the white flowered, evergreen tree Poliothyrsis sinensis and within moments of leaving his stand I regretted not buying one. Ward Alpines had a huge quantity of Gentians in flower including Blue Silk and the double Eugens Allerbester. These and many others delights we managed somehow to resist for this year, but by next autumn perhaps the garden will be ready for them.

There is plenty of inspiration for the designer in the plants themselves but what accessories there are can also be exciting. Monumental stone benches by Urbanat and chic furniture in zinc, wood or steel set the mind racing with possibilities. Clothing, tools and many other items are offered for sale and the organisers have laid on a number of lectures spread across the three days, although I have yet to attend one.

One of Europe’s horticultural gems, Les Journées des Plantes, at the Domaine de Courson is a must for the plant lovers amongst us. If you have yet to discover it, your next opportunity is 15th – 17th May 2009, with the autumn show on 16th – 18th October. Entry is 15 Euros. More information from the web site: www.domaine-de-courson.fr Tell them Colin and Marie-Chantal sent you!

Rhus showing autumn colour in a Chabris garden

The grapes have been picked in the vineyards of the Touraine and at village fetes throughout the area Bernache, a bubbling, still fermenting grape juice is offered by good humoured stallholders, while local musicians play in nearby cafes to help celebrate another successful harvest.

Here in central France the people are in touch with nature in a way I haven’t seen since my childhood in Cornwall. Although there are more than a few commuters from Paris in the area, everyone seems to be involved with the land in some way or another and the seasons are keenly followed.

At the moment while many are preoccupied with the wine, pigs are being prepared in the old way: family and friends getting together to turn an animal into delicious pates, sausages, and hams for preserving and storing. There are mushrooms to be picked from the Oak woods and meadows at the weekends, dodging the hunters who are out with their dogs after game. Deer, wild boar and anything that flies are persuaded out of hiding by scores of dogs, nearly as wild as their prey. On the river banks the fishermen are in place as usual, perhaps snacking from the fallen fruits of a nearby Walnut tree as they wait for a bite at the end of the line.

Gardening too is a seasonal affair and I am working hard to clear the overgrown wilderness around our house. When we arrived there were complaints that snakes had been seen coming from our property into the street, so the removal lorry had hardly been emptied before I was out with the strimmer tidying the front. Since then I have worked through front and back gardens removing brambles, young trees and chest high grass in an effort to tame the jungle.

I have planted a few shrubs I brought from the UK, an easy task in the light sandy soil with which we are blessed. On the other side of the town the influence of the underlying limestone gives much heavier, limey clay soils in which corn, sunflower and maize do well, but closer to the river and especially in the Sologne to the north of us, the soils are acid and much less fertile. These are the areas where grapes, strawberries and asparagus are grown and in gardens, Camellias and Rhododendrons thrive.

Once the weeds have been controlled I will be able to begin the planting of our garden in earnest. The plan was prepared a year ago but has been changed several times since. For someone who designs gardens for a living and has seen over 1,000 completed, I have found my own very hard to finalise.  I hope you will enjoy following its progress as much as I will.

One of the gardens at this years garden show at Chaumont

There is no doubt the summer is coming to an end. While we continue to enjoy a long period of warm, sunny days, the mornings are cool and there is heavy dew on the ground until late in the day. The grape picking starts here in a few days and no doubt all eyes will be anxiously scanning the horizon for signs of deterioration in the weather.

This area is rural, made up of towns, villages and hamlets dedicated to farming and horticulture in the gentle rolling countryside on the borders of the Touraine, the Berry and the Sologne in the geographical centre of France. Paris is not far by motorway or train but feels like a life-time away. 

It would be all too easy to spend our time in this peaceful backwater doing very little while the money gradually runs out; rarely have we felt so relaxed and contented. We have a business to run however and it will take several months to have the renovations done on the house and get our office and ourselves into gear. In the mean time I have garden plans for UK customers to complete and a handful of French clients to visit.

Gardening has taken up some of my time and I have had some encouragement from the locals. When we arrived the grass was chest high and there was talk of neighbours complaining to the mayor: snakes were seen coming onto the road from our back garden! The front is now respectable enough and I am making inroads into the wilderness behind the house. Having spent my days drawing for the last few years I am not a fit as I was and find that I need a break of a day or two for every few hours of labouring. Ah, the joys of getting old!

I have uncovered the planting I did last year from its blanket of brambles and can report that most of my imports have survived. These include unusual Viburnum species and several Miscanthus grasses, but my cherished Eucryphia has died and will need replacing. We brought an eclectic mix of potted plants lifted from our old garden in the removal lorry but these still await the results of the clearance operation and are dotted around the plot to be planted at a later date. Amongst others I have a large Aesculus parviflora, the shrubby American Horse Chestnut, yet more grasses, a female version of the Golden Hop, a pot of Nerine bulbs and a Chinese Tree Peony, all waiting for new homes.

Strimming my way through the undergrowth, which was cleared at some expense only a year or so ago, I have produced heaps of material which will be composted to improve the poor sandy soil. I am undecided if I can clear the garden ready for planting just by cultivating the ground but have weedkillers standing by if need be. There is little pointing in undertaking planting in a meaningful way until the weeds have been brought under control. Our soil is very light and sandy and can be worked easily but needs organic matter to improve it. I have also noticed Rhododendrons and Camellias growing well in the sand areas so it would seem that the river valleys are acid even if the underlying geology is limey. I have high hopes for this garden!

Whenever I visit a new region I am excited to see what can be grown there. We have already been to a few local gardening events to meet amateur gardeners, nurserymen and landscapers and came back with a particularly lovely Camellia from one little local festival yesterday. I have spotted a few plants I consider unusual and note that some we would judge slightly tender – Campsis, Albizia Lagerstroemia, even Lemons – are in flower now and commonly grown. The local garden centre is unimpressive by UK standards but some of the nurseries are excellent, if rather pricey.

I usually find the huge range of plants I am familiar with are not to be found abroad and I am planning to import a lorry load from UK nurseries when the garden is ready to receive them. Who knows, we may even start a small nursery to supply our local clients. In the mean time we are keen to plant ornamental and fruit trees and may have to swallow our pride and pay French retail prices for them. The fete of Saint Catherine (28^th November) is the traditional day for this, when success is virtually guaranteed. On the weekend of 17^th October we plan a visit to the famous plant fair at the Chateau de Courson , south of Paris, where growers from all over France and beyond meet to promote their wares. I have bought plants here before and this may prove to be the ideal opportunity to acquire some interesting trees. Sadly, English growers have yet to discover this show although Dutch, Belgians, Italians and Spanish nurseries can all be found there.

My birthday treat this year has been a visit to another garden show, this time the festival of gardens and garden design at Chaumont, less than an hour away from us now, rather than the ten-hour trek we used to undertake each year.  This is one of Europe’s most innovative garden shows, attracting top designers to build gardens on themes which change each year. Unlike Chelsea, budgets are kept deliberately low and the gardens are on display for the whole summer season. We are hoping a few designers and keen amateurs will use our accommodation as a base to visit this and some of the Chateaux gardens of the Loire Valley next year.

This year’s event allowed designers to explore the themes of sharing and division, “en partage” and “à partager”, in French. This attracted designers from as far as the United States to participate with a range of garden ideas, as usual some more successful than others. We shared the park with coach loads of young children and most gardens encouraged a hands-on approach to viewing. The cheerful mix of the inspirational, challenging or outrageous gardens made for a very pleasant day out which was also enjoyed by friends we brought with us. Of course, I had my eyes open for new plants, new combinations of familiar plants, materials and techniques to use in my own design work.

On our journey back to home to meet yet another plumber we travelled through the vast vineyards of the Touraine, where machines were out gathering in the crop. These days it would seem there is less use for the gangs of itinerant workers who used to follow the harvests but in our village the wine growing is of a smaller scale and friends and neighbours still gather to help each other bring in the grapes. It is a social as well as an economic activity here and lunch times are spent together devouring great rustic meals of surprising sophistication, lubricated with large quantities of home produced wine. In the countryside, as in the garden, sharing is important and holds the social fabric of the village together.

This Blog rises, Phoenix-like, from the ashes of a number of similar blogs originally hosted by AOL, who have now withdrawn such services.

After years of offering my thoughts and many photographs as a UK garden designer it seems somehow appropiate that, having moved to the wilds of central France, the Blog should also find a new home.

I trust my reader and I will continue to enjoy all that gardening has to offer, with a new French twist and more than a little support from le bon vin de Touraine.