Gardening in the Pyrenees Orientales. April is the month when things in the garden really begin to grow so it is time to catch up with your jobs.
April is the month when things in the garden really begin to grow. In February and March there seemed to be plenty of time: in April as the ground warms up, the garden comes along in a rush. So it is time to catch up with your jobs.
Gardening in the Mediterranean climate presents some unique challenges requiring wise use of water and a knowledge and appreciation of plants and gardens suited to the Mediterranean climate.
Am I an organic gardener? An honest answer is “partly”. I believe in trying to do without chemical aids in the garden and have turned to using natural fertilisers and compost and to employing organic gardening techniques for controlling pests where possible. However, I also use chemical methods where necessary.
After contact with the processionary caterpillars, I was in agony for a couple of weeks until I saw your posting – and it helped the doctors by giving them a diagnosis. So – please let ladies know that they should cross their legs!
These are in fact caterpillar nests, constructed by the pine processionary caterpillar (chenille processionnaire) larva, who live in large ‘tents’ and march out at night in single file (hence the name) to feed on the pine needles.
January is the coldest month of the year but it presents a real challenge: very little is growing, the branches are bare, the spring bulbs are just peeping up and one can see the bare bones of the garden.
There has been much confusion in the past surrounding
the laws for swimming pool security in France.
Since January most of my articles have dealt with the how and when of gardening, but now I want to look at why we have a garden and what we hope to achieve with it.
There are still some harvests to gather in the garden – the last few marrows and gourds need to be picked before the frosts, and the rows of parsnips are now demanding to be harvested to provide winter delights such as parsnip chips and curried parsnip soup, which are practically unknown to the French.