Thursday, March 28, 2013

Weeds

A little garden update


If you've read the post where I introduced my garden to you ("how do you do?"), you may remember that in my weirdly L-shaped garden, the far end was used as a dumpster by generations of previous owners!

Peut-être avez-vous lu cet article où je vous présentais mon jardin bizarrement disposé en L. Peut-être vous souvenez vous que l'extrémité du L servait de dépotoir depuis des années et des années...


This was my first project in the garden.  It was obviously not all DIY, but I did all I could so that the project would stay in my budget.

Ce coin-là a été mon premier projet dans le jardin.

I began by removing all the weird stuff I could find in that part of the garden: from completely dryed out paint brushes to millions of oyster and mussel shells.


A gardener came to level the floor. It's not something I could have done on my own... He also turfed.

Après avoir retiré moi-même des tonnes de choses bizarres comme des vieux pinceaux et des tonnes de coquilles d'huîtres et de moules,  j'ai appelé un jardinier pour qu'il nivelle le sol et engazonne.


I bought an apple tree and a pear tree in a nearby nursery. I thought I would never make it home with the two trees though as it was very difficult to get them both to fit in my tiny European sized car! I kept swearing and laughing at myself on the nursery parking lot... Many people looked at me and I could see doubt in their eyes. But I made it... and none of the "specatators" helped me!

J'ai acheté un pommier et un poirier... seulement pour me rendre compte après mon passage en caisse que ma voiture était trop petite pour eux deux! Enfin, bon, il ne faut jamais me lancer ce genre de défi impossible car après une grande bataille entre eux, moi et la voiture, sous le regard amusé des gens qui se garaient sur le parking, j'ai fini par gagner et les ramener tous deux dans mon "verger".

I was only a beginner gardener and was very disappointed the next spring when that part of the garden looked like this:


None of the grass was growing as weeds had grown in its place. See, that's where I was going with my title. I'm not a suburban mom trying to find an illegal way to pay my bills!

Grosse déception au printemps suivant: seules les mauvaises herbes repoussaient! Le jardinier, rappelé en urgence, me proposait de venir traiter chimiquement. Quoi? Dans mon verger? Avec tous mes futurs petits fruits? Non, merci. Toutes les herbes ont donc été arrachées à la main petit à petit. Un mot résume bien cette décision: ampoules!

I called the gardener back and he suggested to use chemical products. That was a big no for me as this was the part of the garden where I had planted the apple tree, the pear tree and where I wanted to plant  raspberry and strawberry bushes.

So I decided to remove all (or most of) the weeds by hand. One word can sum up that fascinating activity: blisters!

But it was so worth every blister!


Mais ce petit coin de paradis méritait chacune des ampoules que j'ai pu me faire! 

Doesn't that picture make you feel that spring should be there by now? Truth: the picture was taken last summer, spring is very, very late here and it's too cold to have tea on the bench.

Thanks for following me in the garden. See you soon,

Merci de m'avoir suivie dans le jardin. A bientôt,

I'm showing off my garden at:


 "OPEN HOUSE" is posted on THURSDAY           Share Your Cup Thursday             Photobucket       
                                        
                             DIY Show Off             

  PJH Designs                    

24 comments:

  1. I am so enjoying your blog! It looks lovely!

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  2. Your garden posts are making me long for spring. And truth be told, maybe even a little summer. I think we are going to be going in the right direction this coming week.
    Blisters are sometimes worth the effort. I'd say they were in your case. For a novice, I'd say you did quite well.

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  3. Your determination of making a beautiful garden will pay off.
    It's strange that no one was there to help you with those trees. I always thought that Europeans are helpful. I guess sometimes it depends on luck.
    I am also a person who likes to do things myself when situation does not permit getting help from others or no one is there to help. It just makes you stronger and know that you can be self-sufficient.

    Thanks for adding me to your blog list.

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  4. Bra jobbat. Det är mycket slit i början. min koloni var helt igenväxt också när jag tog över.
    Nu börjar det arta sig Spännande att se hur du fixat din trädgård.
    ha en fin Påsk
    Kram Meta

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  5. Un beau jardin ça demande du travail! Mais quel plaisir quand la récompense arrive. Belle transformation chez toi, ce petit bout de jardin est ravissant.
    A bientôt,
    Rose & J.

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  6. So much of gardening is trial by error. It looks, though it is coming along beautifully now.
    Hugs,
    Laura

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  7. It looks so beautiful with the bench - can't wait to see your spring post!
    It's warm here finally ( well 12 degrees ( celcius ) it's here - it's finally here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Big hugs,
    Suzan

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  8. You will enjoy your little garden so much this spring and summer. You certainly did a lot of work and it will be nice to watch your trees grow.

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  9. It looks so nice. I wish it was warm enough here to sit outside with a glass of wine.

    S
    xo

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  10. It's gorgeous! The spring is off to a cold start here in Virgina as well! Brr....

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  11. Wow! Your garden looks so nice Magali, well done. I also have been amazed what I can fit in my VW when departing a nursery, and shame on those "spectators" :-) Your garden is going to thrive when summer finally arrives. Ann

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  12. OMG! Have been scrolling up and down for the last ten minutes! What an amazing transformation!
    It's amazing!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for stopping by! As an avid reader of your blog, I know that transformation has no secret for you either!

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  13. Oh Magali, you poor thing. That was hard work! But what a fantastic job you did!

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  14. So pretty!!! I love the lawn and the fruit trees. I once had a pear when I lived up north and it looked so pretty in the spring.

    I want grass in my backyard, but unfortunately it will be an ordeal given the climate and the ground.

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    Replies
    1. I believe every region has its charm and in the garden, we don't have the choice but to follow Nature. I bought an apple tree and a pear tree because they are typical in Brittany. A desert garden can be so charming.

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  15. Tu as eu bien du courage, mais quand on voit le résultat, cela valait la peine ! J'attends avec impatience de pouvoir déguster une de tes poires !

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  16. I swear I pull weeds here 9 months of the year. when the dogs go out for their business, I peruse the beds plucking as I go along. we established the yard from the rough remains left from building the house. it has been weeds every year, I hired a student to help 2 years ago as it was a very wet cold spring, then bang right into summer, the weeds were horrible. Pulled by hand, lots of mulch added to enrich the soil. I finally noticed this year, 4 that they are not as prolific, finally, maybe I am getting a handle on them? I hope so, I hope this year in your garden you don't have to work as hard. I have a beautiful swing in my back garden, I hope to enjoy it a bit this year! I love your pear and apple trees and I hope you get a chance to replace on your pretty bench! Patty/BC

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  17. I have a love/hate relationship with gardening. I've had to tame several yards through the course of different home. I understand your pain. You did a beautiful job. It's still freezing here. Last year was the first time we ever had beautiful spring weather. I recall people were wringing their hands with concern why we were having such beautiful weather. I kept saying enjoy it, it's a once in a life time event!!! Now the same people are moaning that its still snowing haha. I can't wait to see your garden as the weather warms.

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    Replies
    1. Spring lasted two days last week and now we're back to winter! It's 36°F today and I can't stand it anymore. But there's nothing else to do that wait for better days to start my work in the garden! Thanks for visiting!

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  18. Oh Magali, all that weed pulling really did pay off. Your garden is lovely. When we bought this home 3 1/2 years ago the previous owners had put in a rock wall all along the back because our neighbors are higher than us. It was a total weed fest. People suggested that I spray the weeds. No I didn't want the seeds spreading so a little at a time I weeded it all. Now it is full of beautiful flowers and I seldom have weeds. Hard work does pay off! Thanks for sharing with Share Your Cup.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  19. I love your blog name! So cute! Makes me want to come visit you. :)

    I would love you to link up your pretty garden to my Give Me the Goods link party where your link will show up on 5 blogs:
    http://www.marriedfiling-jointly.com/2013/04/give-me-goods-linky-party-2.html

    ~Chelsea @ Married Filing Jointly

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  20. Everything looks so beautiful. Great Job! All your hard work paid off.



    Take Care,
    Jody

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