HOUSE CLEARANCE - FRENCH STYLE
We ventured forth to our first house clearance sale to see about getting stock for the Brocante - the newspaper advertisement said that the sale was at 2.30pm and viewing from 2.00pm. We arrived at 2.00pm - the front door was open and people milling about but no sign of anyone in charge - we walked around the house which had four floors from basement to attic.
The sad thing was that it was just as if the owner had walked out and left everything - cupboards full of stuff - it was rather odd to be wandering around someone's life like this.
We went outside to wait, the auctioneer arrived and we asked for a list of the lots (we thought it would take most of the afternoon to sell everything in the house) but no list as they sold by the room or even by the floor !
Around 30 of us crowded into the sitting room and the auctioneer sold off a few lots of the best things - a pewter collection, musical instruments, etc. And then he sold off the entire room - the deal is that you have to clear the room as soon as possible - that day preferably - but certainly by the next day ! The photo is taken the next day with one of the dealers clearing out his purchases.
When you consider that the sideboard was packed full of china, glass & cutlery it would not be a quick process. They then continued on through the house selling room by room.
Having arrived in our car thinking we might pick up a few small pieces, we were in no position to bid on whole rooms ! So the next time we want to go to a house clearance sale we will know to take a van and a few friends to help !
FALAISE - FOIRE DE L'ETE - SATURDAY 15TH JULY
In addition to the lovely Saturday market in Falaise, this Saturday they are adding to the attractions by including a vide-grenier, brocante etc. Should be a lot of fun and well worth a visit. Visit Falaise Tourist Office website for more details.
BACK FROM UK
Went to UK for niece's wedding in west Wales, near Tenby - the most lovely wedding - the bride was so beautiful. Then whirlwind tour around Herefordshire, Staffordshire & Gloucestershire with sister (who is based in Shanghai and over for wedding) to see all our relatives and friends before heading back to the calm roads here in Normandy ....
Of course had to visit garden centres and despite having absolutely no room in the car still managed to squeeze in these new plants ...... absolutely thrilled with this new dwarf Mulberry - won Gold Medal at Chelsea this year .... have tried growing Mulberries here before and three have died. Not sure whether to put it in the ornemental orchard as it only gets to 1.5m and maybe a little small in that area. This new one already has fruits on ... no waiting for seven years .... yippee.
Also couldn't resist this perennial foxglove .... just stunning.
Back to sort out the garden after two weeks away and delighted to wake to rain this morning as the well has given out and the plants are looking somewhat tired.
The barn border looking splendid .... have to confess mostly self sown - it's why I leave lots of seed heads on the plants even though it doesn't always look great .... these centranthus & foxgloves have liberally placed themselves amongst the alchemilla mollis .... just a little worried they are swamping out the hydrangeas. A little further down are some lovely foxgloves 'Summer King' that I grew from seed so very pleased to see them coming out. Mermaid rose about to flower - one of my favourites ... such a fresh yellow and good on north facing walls.
John spotted this amazing butterfly amongst the Knautia macedonica/Melton mix in Mum's garden yesterday. Have seen one here before but they are very rare visitors so thrilled to have seen it. The variety of wildlife here is wonderful - have been disturbing quite a few toads & frogs when weeding ...
ASCENSION DAY HOLIDAY
Still not getting to grips with this blog stuff ... definitely typed info on the day but it hasn't appeared on the blog ... where do it go to .....
Anyway to recap - public holiday in France ... Vide Grenier this morning and got some great things for the Brocante .... duck race in Putanges ... hilarious .... river not co-operating ... so ducks took rather a long time to complete the course .... even the commentator was moved to remark that the ducks seem to be rather tired and unmoving today ..... lunch in Putanges and then back to Le Moulinet for forty winks in hammock .... possibly most favourite place in the world .... then the watering began ... three hours later ..... please let it rain soon .....
There are some things that are worth waiting for ..... they may only be with us for a few weeks but I love these species tulips ..... originally I bought three bulbs from Avon Bulbs and I have nursed these along by providing open ground for them to seed and after a few years we have this wonderful display (this is one of three clumps).
They are from Turkey and are now probably exctinct in the wild .... they grow in shade under our fabulous lime trees and make me smile every morning when heading to the polytunnel...
GARDEN OPEN - FIRST WEEKEND
We successfully opened the garden for the first time last weekend with around 50 visitors enjoying the wonderful setting, wandering around the various areas that we have including the wood which is lovely to walk through at the moment. All the bright greens of new foliage giving layers of texture to the views across the ornamental orchard down to the stream.
This stunning photo was taken by a neighbour of ours, she and her husband have the Haras du Gazon just down the road from us and they have some great gites in an incredible setting on their historic farm - www.gitesgazon.com.
We are now open every weekend until end September (excluding June 17th/18th when we will be in Wales for a very special family wedding - Rebecca and Geraint - so looking forward to it).
Long time francophile (32 years) living between our lovely house in Normandy and work in London. Now I finally have the time to devote more energy to Le Moulinet.