Old orchard at Vourlhat

A favourite walk is to follow the long distance footpath (GRP) “Robe de bure et cotte de mailles”(A homespun dress and a coat of mail) which passes by our house and then climbs out of the Senouire valley from Vals le Chastel and up onto the “prairie” landscape of the high plateau above. We then leave the path and circle down back to the valley floor,taking us past the village of Vourlhat and its old orchard and ancient well. This winter was an ideal time to photograph the orchard as the bare branches gave a stark structural character to the trees especially suited to a black and white treatment.

A Year In The Garden

It’s a year now since we moved permanently to France. So as good a time as any to look back at what has been achieved since we moved permanently to France last year.

How the garden looked on arrival is hard to convey in pictures, but it was all very overgrown and completely shaded by over 30 trees – mainly tall conifers, and an old walnut tree.

We had most of the trees felled and cut up for logs and then set to work creating separate orchard and vegetable plot areas.

A lot of hard work has been put into the landscaping of both the areas, though we were slowed down a bit by the snow in winter and the fairly wet spring.

We have also planted a new hedge along the gardens border with the road, replacing the long line of conifers.

Everything seems to have come through the winter and has grown on really well and its nice to finally have some produce.

It’s been a fantastic year, hard work but very rewarding and we can now start planning for next year..