Alphabe Thursday

U is for United Kingdom.
Last 5 days I was in United Kingdom for a garden trip with my garden club. We've seen beautiful gardens and amazing old houses.
We visited  Pashley Manor gardens. The rhododendrons were still in bloom; weather was warm and we had lunch in the garden....

In the private garden Bankton cottage we saw the motherswan with her 'child' walking in the garden......

There were also beautiful statues in this garden.

In Great Dixter, the garden of Christopher Lloyd(died in 2006), were many, many flowers. 

 

Christopher Lloyd with his dog Canna.

In the private garden KIng John's Lodge were, like in the other gardens many rhododendrons in bloom. Even beside the roads were walls of rhododendrons.

And , of course, we visited Sissinghurst castle and gardens.

Alphabe Thursday

This thursday we are talking about the S. S is for sac, the French word for bag.

I already told you that I am preparing a stand on the fleemarket on the 14th of July.

The 14th of July is a French national holiday, also called Bastille day. It commemorates the storming of the Bastille on the 14 th of July 1789.

Bastille fight , painting by Laurent Houel

This anniversaire of the storming of the Bastille fortress-prison is  a symbol of the uprising of the modern nation, and the reconciliation of all French inside the costitutional monarchy which preceded the first republic, during the French revolution.

There are many festivities this day. This picture shows the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower on Bastille day.

Yesterday I showed you cute things for my stand.

I also made some bags for children.

I've bought some traditional Dutch fabric with mills, kissing little farmers, sailing boats....

 

There 'll be more blue ones within some weeks.

I also made 2 large 'adult' bags with many pockets.

Alphabe Thursday

Today our 'master' Jenny gave us the letter R. For me R is for ROSES. I have about 70 varieties in my garden. At the moment there are only a few in bloom. I'll show you some pictures.

This is NEVADA , always the first rose in bloom, these are only the first flowers.....

I don't remember the name, I think it's a rose from KORDES .

Here are some pictures I made last year. This one is Westerland, a beautuful rose.

 

Dentelles de Bruxelles, a LOUIS LENS rose, in fall there are a lot of hips.

Gipsy boy or (Zigeuner Knabe), lovely rose with a great smell.

I think you can imagine the magnificent 'rosary' here in june........ when all the roses are in bloom.

I am very busy preparing the fleemarket in july and preparing a journey to U.K. in june with my gardenclub. That's why I did not make a post last week and I did not visit the other participants at all....... 

Alphabe Thursday

P is for Pèlerinage, the French word for pilgrimage.
Some kilometers from my house is the Christian pilgrimage route  to St Jaques de Compostelle (St James' Way).
St James' way is the pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago in North-West Spain.

The way of St James has existed for over thousand years. It was one of the most important Christian pilgrimage during medieval times.

Legends holds that St James remains were carried by boat with two of his apostle's  from Jerusalem to norther Spain, where he was burned on the site what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela.

The ST James shell is a symbol which you can often see on the route. The scallop shell is the traditional emblem of James. Medieval Christians making the pilgrimage to his shrine often wore a scallop shell on their hat or clothes.   

Today, tens of thousands of Christian pilgrims and other travellers start each year from their front doorstep , or popular starting points across Europe, to make their way to Santiago. 

Most travel by foot and bicycle, some with a donkey or a horse. 

There are many ways you could take to Santiago but the French ways are the most popular.

The route that starts in Vezelay , passes through a village some kilometers from here. So even in my hameau you can often see people walking ..... 

The 

Alphabe Thursday

Today it's 0-day. O for oublié, that's the French word for forgotten.
I forgot to tell our master Jenny that I could not visit the class last week because I was in Nantes. I hope she's not too angry.......
Last week was the letter N and I love to tell you about my friend Natasha, so I'll do it now. It's all a bit confusing but next week I promise to be there in time......

So, my friend Natacha, here she is...... 82 years old and always very energetic. She was born from a Russian father and a French mother who belonged to the nobility.

She lives about 1 kilometer from here since 20 years, before, she lived in Paris in an apartment.

There, she and her husband were already active in a club to preserve old and regional fruit trees.  

When they moved over to the country they immediately started to plant fruit trees, especially regional varieties.  

In there garden there are now 300 fruit trees of which are  242 different varieties..... 

An example: she has 176 apple trees of which are 140 varieties.!! There are pear-trees, plum-trees,peach-trees, cherry-trees, apricot-trees, quince-trees, walnut-trees and chestnut-trees.   Imagine the beauty when they are all in bloom.

Her husband died 3 years ago , she has a gardener now twice a week for some hours, but she still does   the mowing!

 

Natacha also has chickens and she has 2 beehives. So there are 'homemade' eggs and there is delicious honey.

Yes, life in the country is a very happy life......

If you want to vist the other participants, go to Jenny....

Alphabe Thursday

M is for MANGU, one of my donkey's. There are two of them, the other is called Orphée.
First thing i have to do in the morning is feeding the animals.

 When  I open the barn where the cat sleeps, she immediately goes to Mangu to say good morning. It's so cute to see them caressing each other, the donkey with his big head and large nose and the small, small cat . I cannot show you a picture because when I come with my camera, they finish immediately . It's really their moment of intimacy. Here is a picture of the cat sitting in the hay while the donkeys are eating!

Years ago  in France the donkeys worked on the land , they were very strong and much cheaper than a horse.

In France there are still several donkey races. Mangu is from this region, he is an 'Grand noir du Berry' (big black from the Berry).

 This is the donkey from the Provence, he worked with the sheeps in the mountains.

This donkeys is called 'le baudet de Poitou'. he's also called the Rolls-royce of the donkeys. He was already known in the Middle Ages.

Each year sur L'isle de Ré, you can see donkeys with trousers (ânes en culotte). It's an old tradition to protect them against insects. 

If you want to  try  something different this year , come to France for a walking holiday with a donkey. There are various options for a donkey trekking. A donkey can carry about 30/40 kg of luggage. A holiday like this is very destressing......

Alphabe Thursday

Today it's  the L for LENTILLES, the French word for lentils.
The region where i live is also called the BERRY. Today I'll talk about the green lentils from the Berry. Of course there are also the famous lentils from le Puy, but here we are proud of our lentils. They even have a  'label rouge' qualification.

A group of 40 lentils growers in the Berry area produce these green lentils. Grown in the local Berry soil, they have a mild flavor with a hint of chestnut taste. 

Each year the second weekend of september there is the 'fête de la lentille' in Vatan, a small town in the Berry. There even will be chosen a Miss Lentille.

In front of  the townhall in Vatan.

The beautiful old market hall in Vatan.

Green lentils from the Berry have important nutritional value. Rich in fiber and vitamins B, the lentils are also an excellent source of minerals, especially calcium and iron;

Green lentils may be prepared in a variety of ways. 

I'll give you a salad recipe.

• 1 cup dried lentils (preferably small French lentils)
• 1 large garlic clove, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 3/4 lb tomatoes, diced (2 cups)
• 4 large scallions, thinly sliced (3/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
• 3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar, or to taste
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

preparation

Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan with lentils, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until lentils are just tender, 15 to 25 minutes. Drain in a large sieve, then transfer to a large bowl.

Toss hot lentils with tomatoes, scallions, dill, basil, vinegar, oil, pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste. ( 4 to 6 persons)