Blooming lovely!

A very special day

Today is a special bank holiday in France to celebrate VE Day – slightly different to the normally quiet holidays when people relax and most of the activities close. I was a bit surprised and very curious when some friends suggested a trip to the local flower market, but the mention of a table booked for lunch after we’d had a look around made it a must do event.

The table was booked for 12.30 and we arrived at 11.45 – after all, surely there is only so much time you can spend looking at flowers.

Beautiful stone archway with flowers for sale in Cadoiun

At war with a Wisteria

Peter has been building a wonderful new pergola for the garden to support the huge wisteria plant that is taking over the patio. Stunning as it is when it’s in bloom, we like to sit out on the patio too and the wisteria is winning the war for space! So it is being raised up to act as a shade and we are reclaiming our right to eat again on the patio. No doubt it won’t be too long before the wisteria has full control over the pergola -but there is small spot that the wisteria shouldn’t be able to reach. However knowing our wisteria it will probably like the challenge!

We decided that, to fill the elusive small space, a climbing rose would be perfect to add some colour to the patio during the summer once the wisteria had stopped blooming. Finding a rose quite as beautiful though as the one at the front door of the house might prove a challenge. So, with a flower festival looming we had a shopping list of just one item – a climbing rose. Things didn’t start well when we arrived, parked up and realised we had forgotten to bring any cash. This is rural France after all! So, Peter headed back to get some money while I went to the festival to see what we might find to buy.

Flowers for sale outside the church in Cadouin

Flowers everywhere

What a display of colour and beauty. The backdrop was the stunning village of Cadouin (which if you’ve read my previous blogs you’ll know is one of my go to places for peace and relaxation – and an ice cream! To see the Abbey surrounded by so many flowers in full bloom was such a picture.

There were so many varieties of flowers on display: climbing plants, hanging baskets, bunches of peonies, bedding plants, roses, and more roses, of every colour, shape, size and scent you could imagine.

Stunning colourful flowers for sale at the market

Decisions, decisions

By the time Peter arrived back I’d narrowed the choice down to a white or a pink climber. I wanted one that would stay in bloom all through the summer season so our guests could enjoy them. Peter had different ideas, he fell in love with a delicate little flower (no, I don’t mean me!).

It was two tones of deep pink and had only a very thin layer of petals. It was very beautiful, but I’m not sure it will flower for very long. So, the decision was quite easy. Two climbing roses. The next issue is where

Flower market stalls outside church in Cadouin in the Dordogne

Now for lunch

The shopping over, its off to Chez Cathy et Paulo to share lunch with our friends – a carafe of local white wine and a pizza on the terrace were a perfect way to celebrate the new additions to the gardens at Fontalbe.

It turns out that there’s a lot more to bank holidays in France than I had ever imagined!