Today we were invited to the village Mairie where we were presented with 4th prize for the 'Maison Fleurie' competition.
The presentation was followed by a "vin d'honneur" and the chance to meet lots of lovely people.
It does feel like a great honour and makes all the effort of planting all the pots at the front of the house worthwhile. The front of the house presents quite a challenge for plants. It can be bitterly cold in Winter and temperatures have soared to probably over 50° Centigrade on many Summer afternoons. (The thermometer stops at 50° so who knows where it ended).
I have tall pots filled with euonymous and a sage coloured cotoneaster with a space for flowering plants that change with the seasons. In the Spring there were narcissi that wafted their heady perfume into the hall whenever the front door opened.
And then classic red geraniums, plus some fragrant lavender.
The big success was the pair of tall ipomeas or morning glories. I used to go outside early in the morning to watch the delicate flowers unfurl. They only lasted a day, but carried on flowering for months with a bit of TLC. Eventually they climbed into the hanging baskets above and met across the top of the door. On a couple of occasions I found a group of holiday makers taking their photos framed by fabulous blue flowers in my doorway.
Condtions are so extreme that I have other sets of plants resting in a sheltered spot behind the house, ready to take over for a while. I feel really inspired now to do something even more dramatic next year.
It does feel like a great honour and makes all the effort of planting all the pots at the front of the house worthwhile. The front of the house presents quite a challenge for plants. It can be bitterly cold in Winter and temperatures have soared to probably over 50° Centigrade on many Summer afternoons. (The thermometer stops at 50° so who knows where it ended).
Condtions are so extreme that I have other sets of plants resting in a sheltered spot behind the house, ready to take over for a while. I feel really inspired now to do something even more dramatic next year.
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