When we decided to come to France we were determined to buy a house with some land, not something that many can afford in the UK. Not surprisingly; land is something there is plenty of on this side of the Channel and most rural houses come with a good size plot in which to develop your own version of the English estate in France.
The whole idea of being able to wander at leisure around your domain without any restrictions or observation by close neighbours, presents the ideal home location for those wishing to get away from the hustle and bustle of modern life. Furthest from the mind of many prospective purchasers is the consideration of just what is involved in maintaining these rolling square kilometres. This is particularly relevant if the purchaser is looking for the ideal haven in which to relax in their well earned retirement.
In the UK most people have their front lawn and that small area of privacy, the back garden, where all the pent up emotions of work, travel and British life are unleashed by way of the flower borders, lawn and if your lucky; a small area for growing your own vegetables. This little haven keeps you busy on the few days of good weather and is easily maintained with the minimum of tools and equipment. On this basis something a little bigger and more private would be ideal in our retirement and we could expand our gardening prowess and who knows perhaps a few chicken or a goat!
And so it transpires that we all end up buying a house in France with vast square kilometres in which to run amok. It does not take long before we start to realise just what is involved in maintaining all this land and ensuring that you don't wake up one morning and find that the weeds and undergrowth have taken over.
Our little haven is just about manageable by two determined individuals although there are times when I have to call on reinforcements to tackle some of the more difficult tasks. There is no shortage of volunteers for the lawn mowing, the younger visitors seem to enjoy plugging in their MP3 and charging around on the mini tractor mower. Despite my comments above I do enjoy maintaining the garden, but there is one task which is becoming my nemesis, cutting the hedges! No this is not your small privet hedge that we are used to in the UK, these are monster hedges, 3.5 metres in height, running for hundreds of metres around the garden.
To tackle these monsters you have to have a mobile tower, motorised hedge trimmers, a ladder, an assistant for safety and courage! Once a year I cut each of the monsters in turn with my safety assistant securing my tower with her lightweight frame. Unfortunately her mind wanders sometimes and she forgets the importance of her task and wanders off (could it be the insurance she is after).
I have suggested on many occasions that the hedges would be easier to maintain if they were smaller, but I am reliable informed by my wife that we need them to maintain our privacy. At this point I should point out we are in the middle of the countryside and the only thing that would be able to look over the hedge would be the occasional cow or perhaps Antoine on his passing tractor. My only hope is that eventually she will have pity on me and appreciate that in my advancing years the only way I could undertake the task is with a good dose of Viagra!
Fortunately the Breton framers are extremely good at maintaining their own field boundaries and cut the Talus (boundary mounds) regularly keeping the edges of the garden under control. I am very fortunate to have a great farming neighbour who helps out by cutting the rear of the hedges and trimming back trees on the boundary.
I have met a lot of ex-pats who have been overpowered by their gardens and ended up letting some land to adjoining farmers who utilise the area for additional crops. I think it is important to remember that maintaining these large estates can be enjoyable when you first retire, but you only need an illness or incapacity to stop you working in the garden and in a very short time the dream can become a nightmare.
Large gardens can be manageable providing you keep the planting to a minimum and include plenty of shrubs, which can bring in plenty of colour but require little maintenance. It is also important to think about watering and only have borders and plants needing liquid refreshment close to the house. Despite the rumours Brittany can be very dry in the summer and you could spend hours and litres of water trying to keep plants alive. In the summer you should not cut the grass too short or you will have a brown lawn for the best part of July and August. Plant plenty of the favourite flower of Brittany, the Hortensia's (Hydrangea), great colour and ground cover
If you are going to plant trees, be wary of the popular which grows very rapidly in the rich soil of Brittany, these in the photo are only 8 years old. If you are near the coast you will need to watch out for mould forming on the tree bark, treat early with a white liquid moss killer available from most garden stores.
Of course the best part of having a large garden is you can always find a hidden corner on a nice hot day to enjoy your glass of red wine and a baguette.....Santé
Lovely photo of the garden but the scaffolding looks a bit dodgy! Not sure you should be doing that with Mum.
Posted by: lavenderbongo | Sunday, September 13, 2009 at 07:13 AM