8 minute read
Enjoying a Summer Garden with the bees
from The Local Buzz
by Buzzing
This is a time when friends and family enjoy your garden and hopefully you too will have time to relax and reap the rewards of your hard work.
BY SUE SARGEANT, PASSIONATE GARDENER, NOVICE WRITER
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A life without a garden is no life, at least not for me. Well that was how it was for us in 2005 when we decided to retire and move to France permanently. After a hunt, we found our perfect place in March 2006; an old stone house, barely modernised, at the top of a hill in a hectare of ground, and surrounded by oak woods. This was our base for creating what some kind friends now describe as
our 5700 m2 garden with a variety of different ‘rooms’.
Firstly, I had created gardens before but never outside the UK and I had not really done my research about the challenges of the climate in SW France, with its hot dry summers and cold wet winters. We found ourselves literally between a rock and a hard place with very little soil, huge rocks just under the surface and lots of mature trees taking light and moisture. So let’s fast forward 13 years and share some of our experiences and the lessons we have learned, particularly when it comes to creating a summer garden that can be shared with our friends, the bees. July and August can be the driest months of the year so choose drought tolerant plants such as Sedums, Cistus, Verbena Bonariensis, Rudbeckia, Cleome, Lavender and Mediterranean herbs such as Rosemary and Sage.
Cleome - a delicate textural flower
More tender plants may be used to give a tropical feel to your garden such as Banana and Canna but these will need winter protection.
A Pyracantha hedge, a bed of Cerinthe Major Purpurascens or a Lavendar border are loved by bees as, generally speaking, are flowers with a bright yellow centre. Sweet Alyssum has a strong scent, reminiscent of honey which is perhaps why the bees are so attracted to it.
Verbena Bonariensis is always a hit
As a nation, the French have a tradition of planting their pots with Geraniums on the 1st of May. These plants will provide vibrant colour to your gardens well into the Autumn. The annual versions, pelargoniums, can also be used in hanging baskets along with Begonias and Lobelia. Sadly, the blue free-falling flowers of Lobelia may not last the course but they can be quickly replaced with Lantana and Million Bells, both of which love the heat.
The French roses tend to settle into our gardens very well but if, like me, you love English Roses then do seek the advice of the growers so that you choose the most suitable varieties for your garden. I have found that the pale shades cope much better in strong sunlight.
As important as watering when the sun has gone down, otherwise the water droplets will heat and scorch the flowers, is the need to mulch your flower beds with home-made compost, leaves and dry grass cuttings to keep the sun from drying out the soil. The best time to do this is after rainfall or watering. Making your own compost is the cheapest option but your local déchètterie makes compost on a grand scale and is usually free to collect.
If you want a constant display of flowers, you will need to dead head and cut back plants and shrubs after flowering. Some of them, such as Petunias (unless they are the milliflora variety) will not renew their flowers unless you do so. In addition, give your plants a hand by moving some pots into the shade to give the plants some respite from the midday sun. This is particularly important if you are away from home from a while.
We are all used to seeing brown lawns at this time of year. The fault is often in the cutting so, to give it a chance in the heat, it is best to avoid cutting the grass too short leading up to the summer months. Using the mulching facility on your lawnmower will help to protect the grass.
Sue’s garden, her little piece of paradise. Gravel pathways and well selected plants suit the soil. and borders thrive.
Our climate provides many months of the year where we almost live outside and, for this very reason, a cool shady corner of the garden in those mid-summer months is a life saver. Sitting under the trees surrounded by multi-coloured planted pots and even hanging baskets can be glorious.
Help and advice is often available at the local Mairie who should be able to put you in touch with local Gardening Associations. If you are creating a rockery or shady area, don’t forget that local quarries have great landscaping materials and can be much cheaper than garden centres.
If you like surfing the net, online-shopping is a great way to buy your bulbs, plants and garden sundries. Many suppliers in the UK and the Netherlands deliver to France. You could save money on delivery charges by buying in bulk with friends and neighbours or with your local Gardening group members.
Please do join me in the future for more suggestions and the A to Z of plants for our gardens in France!
Attracting bees
Let’s keep our bees happy with these plants and flowers that also help with pollination.
• Asteraceae or Michaelmas Daisy are bee magnets and like full to partial sun
• Echinacea Purpurea love full sun and welldrained soil
• Pentas or Star flowers, the semi-tropical shrub which is grown as an annual
• Sambucus Nigra, the common Elderberry shrub with its wonderful white flowers
• Sedums like the Showy Stonecrop are ideal for bees in the Autumn
Yellow bearded iris are well liked by bees.
Bright ideas for the night garden
Any set designer will tell you that lighting is the most important element and, the garden, as a set, now needs illuminating. Here are some of our tips for creating a little ambiance.
So, now that the garden is looking lovely, it is time to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labour.
Fairy lights are always winners, put them in empty wine bottles along a wall or path edge for a real creative look. String them up a tree, wrap them around bushes and drape them over fences. The solar powered versions can look really good strung along the base of a table too – hooked on with those intriguing little table weights you can buy.
There are coloured fountains for the pool as well as floating candles but how about this for an idea? Try putting glow sticks inside balloons and floating them in your pool. Surreal!
Walking about can be dodgy, particularly at dusk, so paths and walkways shouldn’t be forgotten. You can create a tribal look with mosquito repellent torches lining the route, or opt for stones with solar lights for a more sophisticated scenario. For a casual, quaint and slightly oriental look you could also use fake tealight candles inside paper Chinese lanterns to line steps or brighten a dark corner.
Traditionally shaped light bulbs are the new bright spark in garden lighting. String several strands, one on top of the other, on a stone wall to give a magical effect. Hang them across a pergola, under a tree or along a balcony to create that star struck look.
Recycle old old jam jars with tea lights and ribbons to create a hanging light feature under trees or around the pool house roof. It will add a really sweet touch to bare stone walls and terracotta roof tiles.
If you have a large empty plant tub, turn it on its side and stand candles in it for an unusual feature. Place candles in front of a low mirror to reflect back from a forgotten corner, or use plain old glow sticks around the heads of flowers to create a halo effect. Angelic or what!
Knock up a cocktail or two using fresh fruit as their containers. A favourite has to be water melon with gin or tequila. Take the top of the water melon off, remove the flesh and mash it to a liquid (remove the seeds of course). Insert a beer tap in the watermelon and refill with the liquid. Add whichever spirit (or not) you choose, together with ice. Replace the lid and you are ready to go.
Pimms can be great served in half a cantaloupe melon which gives an interesting twist to the traditional taste. For shots (please drink responsibly), you could use scooped out kiwi fruit (jelly shots would be fun in these too) and half a lemon can serve as a delicious vessel for really cold lemonade. Orange quarters that are frozen are great to suck on and strawberries are, well, ideal with champagne. Finally, do use a few mosquito sticks or candles to ward off the little pests and keep them away from your food and drink. Salut!
