Tuesday, July 02, 2013

The Tale of the Travelling Pelargoniums

Once upon a time, on a market stall in a little French town, there stood a tray of six small, pink-flowered pelargonium plants. They were surrounded and overshadowed by other bigger, flashier (and more expensive) plants, but nevertheless, one sunny morning they were seen and bought by a summer visitor, who wanted to add a splash of colour and beauty to the front of her little house.

Planted out in two big blue ceramic pots, the pink pelargoniums blossomed happily all summer and when the time came for the summer visitor to depart, instead of being abandoned to be killed by the first frost, the were transplanted into smaller pots and taken across the sea to spend the winter in an old Welsh farmhouse.

That was three years ago, and each summer since then, the travelling pelargoniums, no longer small but still beautifully pink, have been carefully brought back to France and planted out in the same big blue pots, to blossom and brighten up the doorway of the little French house. J

Standing guard by the door

One of the problems of trying to garden in a place where I don’t live all the time is keeping plants alive. In our absence our big patch of former orchard is grazed intermittently by a few of our neighbour’s cattle, which at least keeps the grass within bounds much of the time. 

Unfortunately cattle are just as partial to some nice flowering plants as they are to a swathe of juicy grass, if not more so. This means that before we leave each autumn, DH and I have to construct a temporary barrier of branches to protect the little flower border so lovingly created by my mother-in-law two years ago.

Gardening keeps you young

The branches do a sterling job of keeping the cattle away, but sadly they don’t do the same for the weeds, and by the time we return each June, the flower border has all but vanished under a carpet of invaders. Nothing daunted, once we've evicted the spiders and unpacked, and I've planted out the pelargoniums, I make it my next task to banish the weeds and rescue the border, before turning my attention to taming the hayfield lawn.

The weeds make a bid for dominance

The battle is worth it
Some people might find it odd that I work so hard all summer to weed and mow and make the garden as lovely as I can, only to turn my back on it for the next nine months, and have to start all over again next year. I don’t see it that way at all.

One of my most pleasurable occupations during our summers in France is working outside in the garden. I actually love the mowing and get more healthy exercise this way than at any other time of the year. I enjoy finding out which plants will survive neglect to blossom faithfully each summer in my little flower border, and I take pride in the fact that my travelling pelargoniums continue to flourish year after year, flowering happily both in the French sunshine and in my Welsh kitchen. They may make unusual travelling companions, but it works for us.

A splash of colour and beauty

52 comments:

  1. Perpetua, I never thought of taking my flowers with me - what a brilliant idea. your little cottage in France looks very welcoming and the pink pelargoniums in their blue pots are just gorgeous. Wishing you lots of lovely sunshine.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It wouldn't have occurred to me either, Molly, until my sister gave me some bedding plants one year for my pots and they travelled very happily in a box in the campervan. After that bringing the pelargonuims to and fro just seemed natural. :-)

      We're very fond of the cottage, even when it's raining as it is this evening. But sun is promised for later in the week!

      Delete
  2. Hari OM
    Oh Perpetua-ji, that is just perfect!! Pelargoniums and their close relos the geraniums were the only flowering plants I ever managed to keep at my Asquith cottage - had 13 different varieties. They are the most forgiving and versatile plants I know.

    Your cottage is my idea of heaven. I don't do envy. But if I did, this would bring it up!!!

    Bon jardinage, YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought that would appeal to you, Yam. :-) You can probably see that in the border next to the salmon-pink pelargoniums are some clumps of pale pink geraniums which are thriving despite almost year-round neglect.

      The cottage is a very restful place to be and I love it dearly. One day I'll tell you how we came to find and do it up.

      Delete
  3. Oooh - there's lovely, now! I hope that the French/Welsh/(& English) pelargoniums are sufficiently trilingual to be able to communicate on both sides of La Manche with the other plants. I must remember to speak French to them when they're back over here - it might remind them of their home country!!
    Derek Brockway was threatening us with temperatures in the 80s for the weekend and next week - if they're that high I shall not be going out much, although a dose of decent warmth (rather than hot) wouldn't come amiss. But at least we won't be having it as bad as the western part of the US - those poor folk in Arizona, and it's grim all over the western seaboard - 52C forecast. Maybe a trip to Alaska might be a good thing (although it could get crowded if everybody decided to decamp there!) Joking apart, it must be ghastly for them, and so sad for the families of those 19 firefighters. Much prayer needed for that whole situation - wildfires are so unpredictable. The jet stream is having a lot to anwer for in different ways all over the world at the moment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Apologies for the delay in responding. I've been out all day at a meeting of the local garden club, which will probably form the basis of a future post. :-)

      The pelargoniums are looking a bit the worse for wear just now, after a very damp and windy 24 hours, but we too are being promised temperatures in the upper 20s by the weekend. I'll believe it when I see it!

      It's so sad about the Arizona tragedy. We're fortunate not to live where wildfires are a real threat to life and property, but even in the UK there were widespread wildfires in the North-West Highlands earlier in the year.

      Delete
  4. How wonderful that you take such tender loving care of those beautiful flowers! And that you look forward to revitalizing the garden in France each summer. You've created such a lovely home for you and DH everywhere you go?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm a very softhearted gardener, Kathy, which is why I hated the thought of leaving behind plants which would live for years if protected from the winter frosts. They've certainly repaid my care and the six original plants have multiplied over the years, as I take cuttings. The house still needs some work doing, but we don't feel under any pressure and just do it as we feel called. :-)

      Delete
  5. I loved the photograph of your intrepid mother in law..and the idea of the cross channel peregrinations of your pelargonium plants.
    We only had to haul ours inside for the winter.

    Do tell the tale of how you found the house and how you brought it and the garden back to life....I'm enjoying Rosie's account on 'A Year Down the Line' which brings back so many memories of sore muscles and sheer contentment and would love to hear your house's story.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She was 87 when that photo was taken, Helen, and so enjoyed what she created. I've doubled the depth of the border since then, but the idea and initial implementation were entirely hers! It's become a point of honour with me now to keep the pelargoniums thriving.:-)

      It may take a little time to sort out a post or two on the renovation, as most of the early photos are in hard copy and will need to be scanned. But it's a tale worth telling and the idea has now been saved in my blog-draft folder. Watch this space....

      Delete
  6. First of all, congratulations to you on the twenty-fifth anniversary of your ordination. What a happy milestone!
    Your house in France is just lovely. Of course it's exactly how someone like me, in Canada, would imagine a cottage in France. Long may your pelargoniums thrive!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Honora, it was a very special day. Of course you have been otherwise occupied recently and it's good to see you back.

      It's a very ordinary house, but very French, with its shutters and high beamed ceiling in the living-room. It's very typical of Normandy, being built of grey-brown stone and roofed in slate. Pink pelargoniums certainly add a splash of colour.

      Delete
  7. Oh, how I love this, Perpetua - and your views of your cottage! What a charming place to rest your head at night and potter in the garden in the daytime. I can understand your summertime work, for, it isn't that much work if you truly enjoy it, is it? My days are best when I've spent them in the garden. There is such a sense of satisfaction when done, I always find (even if my bones ache).

    You are my last blogging stop for the day, Perpetua. You leave me smiling. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I knew you, with your love of all things gardening would enjoy this, Penny. The garden takes me out-of-doors almost from morning to night when the weather's good and there's always something that needs doing in a patch this size. I'll admit to being considerably more creaky when I finish work than I used to be, but they do tell us to use it or lose it. :-) Once this present spell of wet weather has gone I'll be out there again....

      Delete
  8. The pink pelargoniums in the blue pot add to the charm of your French cottage ... it looks just beautiful, full of character.
    Pelargoniums 1st cousin, the geranium are equally accommodating and I can grow them.
    Congratulations on your 25th anniversary of your ordination:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Shirley. I don't know where those 25 years have gone!

      I didn't set out to buy pink-flowered plants for the pots, but as you say, they go so well together against the grey stone. I've also got pink geraniums at either end of the border and they just keep growing and being divided. My kind of plants too!

      Delete
  9. Dear Perpetua, Your French cottage is beyond gorgeous, and those pink pelargoniums in their pots by the door are just the perfect finishing touch. What a beautiful spot to spend the summer! I love the story of the travelling plants, and am curious that both England and France do not appear to have a problem with plant life crossing the borders. Australia has such strict customs rules, no plants whatsoever may be brought in through customs, not even seeds. And you have to tell them if you have been on a farm while you were overseas, and they sterilise your shoes!! Enjoy your gardening, a perfect pastime, tranquil and healthy - I understand absolutely..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you like the cottage and the post of pelargoniums, Patricia. It's a very quiet and deeply rural area here and we do love our time here, despite the vagaries of the Norman weather (much like the UK in that respect).

      There are strict rules about taking animals and animal products between countries because of diseases like rabies and BSE, but plants seem to be allowed to travel unhindered across the narrow strip of water that divides France from Britain. After all we import much of our fruit and vegetables from the EU and they can't be sterilised as they come through customs.

      Australia is so isolated geographically that its flora and fauna have evolved separately, so the risk from alien species is very much greater. The UK was physically joined to Europe until just yesterday in evolutionary terms. :-)

      Delete
  10. Another lovely post Perpetua.

    When you write your (illustrated) memoirs, perhaps you could tell the story from the viewpoint of the pelargoniums.
    "My nomadic humans", or something similar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That made me laugh, Ray. I shall go to bed tonight to dream of our antics as seen through the eyes of our observant plants. :-) As this is our fourth summer with them, they must be getting to know us quite well....

      Delete
  11. What a pretty little French cottage you have in Normandy Perpetua and I love the story of your roaming geraniums.
    Thank you for all the help that you gave to our blogging friend Val. I know that you were responsible for making her blogging experience good again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dh and I are very fond of our little French house after bringing it back to life over the past 10 years, Rosemary. It's not finished even yet, but we'll get there in the end. :-) The flowers add so much to its sense of permanence.

      I was happy to help Val, but the unexpected restoration of her old blog was a minor miracle that certainly was not of my doing. Fingers crossed that this is the end of her problems.

      Delete
  12. All sounds perfectly normal to me :-) We've roses that have travelled in pots from one garden to another and have some extremely well travelled house plants.

    Lovely photos BTW

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What else can one do when one isn't permanently in one place? My Christmas cactus can survive at home during the summer and doesn't travel well in any case, but the pelargoniums would be mush if I left them over the winter. Roses in pots - now there's an idea for next year..... :-)

      Delete
  13. This is such a lovelystory about the travelling geraniums Perpetua.
    It is indeed therepy to work in the garden. During these warm summer days and early mornings.. i am out all the time.
    Siesta in the heat of the afternoon.. or inside.. then out again around 5.. its wonderful.
    Your cottage is so adorable.
    Its all exciting, to get things all in order for your summer. Enjoy it all.
    happy gardening.
    a wonderful post.
    happy wed.
    val xxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you enjoyed it, Val, and that you have your lovely old blog back to bring you the link to it. :-)

      Our weather is nothing like as hot as yours. Indeed today has been cool and damp, but we are promised temperatures in the upper 20s by the weekend, which is quite hot enough for me. The flowers have benefitted from the rain, but I can't say the same for the wind. As soon as it brightens up I'll be out there again, tidying up the wind damage and tackling yet more of the grass, which was at least 30cm high when we arrived!

      Enjoy your gardening and your lovely pool.

      Delete
  14. Fabulous. We've no need to move anything, but my brother and I have managed to keep plants and plants grown from seeds from our parents and our grandmothers homes which makes us feel sentimental and happy. Funnily enough I've realised over the time we've lived here, that I actually enjoy weeding, it really can be meditative and there's always something pleasing about the results. Enjoy the warmth, it can't make its mind up what to do here today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Anny. I know just what you mean about the satisfaction of keeping things alive and tending what we could call heritage plants. my Christmas cactus was given to me as a cutting from her own by my mother who died over 31 years ago. It's still going strong and flowering every winter.

      Weeding is fine with me too, but kneeling makes my knees hurt, so mowing remains my first love.:-) The warmth has yet to arrive, but I live in hopes. Now to go and explore your alter ego.....

      Delete
  15. Oh Perpetua, your cottage looks like the ideal place to just 'be'. Those little flowers are obviously happy with you wherever you go. Sue

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Funny you should say that, Sue, as I do more just 'being' here than anywhere else. The pelargoniums do seem to be happy to travel and are busy putting out new buds now they're here.

      Delete
  16. I think you're going to get lots of visitors now we've seen photos of the cottage! THose geraniums must love you - all I have to do is look at a plant for it to curl up and die. I couldn't imagine making them move house, they'd probably transform into triffids and eat everyone within sight!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a very small cottage, MM, just 2 bedrooms, so they'll have to come a few at a time. :-) But now you mention it, since we've been open to visitors after I retired 6 years ago, there hasn't been a summer when we haven't had some.

      DH usually says that I'm death to plants too, especially house plants, but geraniums and pelargoniums are incredibly forgiving, so that even I can grown them. Go on, try them - you know you want to....

      Delete
  17. Pelargoniums perpetually in transit eh?

    Sorry we won't see them in-situ in their blue pots in Normandy this year (perhaps next) but hope to see them on your Welsh kitchen window cill not long after you get back Perpetua.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You've said it, PolkaDot! iIm sorry too that you won't be here this year, but look forward to the possibility of a visit next summer. As for Wales, we'll be back by the Bank Holiday and available for a visit until just before the 17th when my op is provisionally scheduled.

      Delete
  18. Of course they must travel with you! I think they are travelling plants - I wonder which 'home' they like best? Your garden looks delightful and I understand that summer care programme - though I bet it's never quite as hot there as it is here! I am so glad I don't have a big lawn to mow just now!
    Lovely photos, Perpetua.
    Axxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think they would sulk and die on me if I left them behind, even in summer, Annie. They seem to flourish wherever they are as long as they get enough sun and water, though today's wind is battering them a bit. :-(

      It's certainly never been as hot as with you while we've been coming here, though the year we bought it even Normandy reached almost 40C in the great French heatwave! I don't think I'd set foot outside in those temperatures and I doubt there'd be much grass to mow either. :-)

      Delete
  19. I think I can really understand how you feel about your garden, Perpetua! It is an uncommon dedication to bring pelargoniums back and forth each year. I love that you do that. I'm a little amused at the idea of constructing barriers to the cattle, but it shows me what an open and beautiful place you have. I love the house! Ah...you must enjoy every minute. I'm so glad you shared more of it with us. Keep working. Ha!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's actually much easier than you think, Debra, as we travel in our little campervan which has huge carrying capacity. I've become rather attached to the sight of pink flowers in the blue post over the years. :-) I only have one small flower border at the front of the house, but I know the cattle would eat all the plants if I didn't stop them, hence the barrier. Let them eat the grass when I'm not there to cut it!

      The rain seems to have stopped now and once things have dried off a bit I'll be out again with the mower....

      Delete
  20. Are the same actual plants or cuttings? Pelargoniums get all leggy and woody, don’t they?
    With cuttings your life would surely be a lot easier and you’d still have glorious pink plants every year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a mixture of older plants to give height at the back of the pots and smaller cuttings to fill in at the front. It's now become an entertaining challenge to see how long I can keep propagating from the original plants. :-)

      Delete
  21. What a lovely story,I wish I could get my border in such great shape so quickly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's not a very big border, about 5 metres by 75cm, so it doesn't take too much effort to get it weeded when we get here. Actually I've never seen it look quite so lush. Everything is so late this year that all the plants seem to be flowering at the same time.

      Delete
  22. Gardening is one of life's best frugal luxuries. I am surprised you can take potted plants with you to France. When crossing the Canadian/US border nothing with dirt can be taken across. Not even root vegetables like potatoes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is when I do it, Kristie, as I don't like throwing money away on plants that won't flourish. :-) As for taking plants across borders, I checked the regulations before i first did so and this is what I found:

      "Within the European Union (EU) there are no border checks for plants and plant products travelling between member states and it is possible to import and export plants freely with very few exceptions." Interestingly potato plants are one of the few exceptions, because of Colorado beetle.

      Delete
  23. Lovely story & lovely photos Perpetua. Living in a second floor flat, we only have indoor & balcony plants. And a few of them are survivors from Finmere, who travelled in the back of our car to Prague nearly five years ago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you enjoyed my flight of fancy, Ricky. :-) It's amazing how attached we can become to plants we've nurtured. I'm not surprised you found room in the car for your house plants when you made the long journey from the UK to Prague.

      Delete
  24. Your French cottage looks absolutely gorgeous Perpetua and I love the idea of taking the plants with you to set up home everywhere you go .I'm back in England for a couple of weeks and am very proud of myself, having set up a simple automatic watering system to keep my precious vegetables alive while I'm away....I just hope it works. otherwise it will be no veg and a big water bill. J.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We've still not completely finished renovating it, Janice, but it's a sweet little house and we do enjoy being here. The pelargoniums spend most of the year in the house in wales, but seem to enjoy their summers in France. :-)

      I think you're very adventurous to try growing veg while you're in France. I've never got as far as that. I do hope your watering system works properly and you have thriving plants to greet you on your return. Fingers crossed....

      Delete
  25. Your place in France is so lovely, Perpetua! How I would love to visit it! I am in awe that you bring your plants back every year. That's real dedication!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And I would love to have you visit, Penny. :-) The house is looking a lot more cared-for than when we first saw it 10 years ago, but we haven't finished yet. Taking the plants to and fro is the easy bit.....

      Delete
  26. Dear Perpetua, your posting today gave me such a sense of contentment and of continuity. Thank you. Peace.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Contentment and continuity - what a marvellous phrase to describe what this little place makes me feel. :-) I'm glad you enjoyed it, Dee.

      Delete

I welcome your comments and will always try to respond to them. Thank you for reading.