Ideas and Complications

The main complication this week is that I am in Narbonne. Yesterday I walked around the lakes near Port-La-Nouvelle, and through the terres sallees, the salt beds. I crossed the railway, the same railway that I travelled back from Spain along last year, the line that crosses the water as it heads up from Perpignan towards Montpelier and Paris. I took photographs of trains and a fierce looking grasshopper, also a fat orchid growing in the grassy path. And, most exciting of all, I took pictures of the birds, well one in particular, les flamants roses. Flamingos. Pink flamingos. Formidable!

Action

Well there was some activity in the garden at home before I left. After discovering that the apple mint was growing I had a look at all the other herbs. I have about six different mints and two or three marjoram, and a thyme plant, all in pots. I decided to repot them and divide them. This left me with one original large pot of each and about twenty little pots ready for sharing. I watered them all – watering at this time of year is not so much for the water as to wash the soil in around the roots.

Plants

Apart from the herbs above, the plant of the week is undoubtedly the lemon tree that grows in the garden of the villa we are staying in. It was a delight to find it when we arrived, covered in lemons. I have also seen bushes with oranges on them and there is a large tree a few gardens away covered in white flowers. I think it must be some sort of cherry, perhaps like the wild cherry at home. I also noticed people pruning the vines in one of the vineyards I saw from the train, and almonds in flower.

Other things

We have generally been getting up at about ten and Louise’s children have been getting up between twelve and four in the afternoon. Tomorrow morning our train leaves at 8.17. That will be fun, although I think I will form the advance guard, walking sedately to the station at 07.45 to enjoy a solitary early coffee; they will follow.

And then we will speed across France, and be home in time for tea. And gardening. There will suddenly be many things to do. I need to get the compost ordered, and then spread, and there will lots of other things.