EVER SINCE WE ARRIVED ON THE HILLSIDE 13 YEARS AGO I HAVE DREAMED OF MAKING A BEAUTIFUL GARDEN.
In my imagination the lawns are mown into stripes and squares, flat and rich enough to welcome the most stringent player of bowls or croquet. The borders are full of exquisite flowering shrubs and unusual specimens arranged in dazzlingly sumptuous groups of form and colour – a miniature Sissinghurst or Great Dixter perhaps? The roses are overwhelming in number and variety, healthy and well trained over pergolas and trellis, the lavender and box are trimmed and clipped into hedges and edges, the kitchen garden resplendent with fine produce and health-giving bounty.
It’s good to dream. In reality the ‘lawns’ are rough meadows of different grass types, each growing at their own particular rate and sprinkled with wild flowers, dandelions, weeds, clover, buttercups and daisies. The borders are still sadly bereft of shrubs and sculpture, my early attempts at importing English style perennials and annuals having failed spectacularly to produce lasting results. The roses refuse to respond to my tidying and pruning, running wild over walls and neighbouring plants and my attempts at topiary have been regularly flattened by careless drivers and over-enthusiastic dogs. The two lilac trees I planted several years ago should now be in full bloom, standing in majestic symmetry either side of some roses and iris but whilst one has attained well over 3 metres in height and is weighted down with blooms, the other is no taller than Freddie the labrador and shows little sign of producing even a single flowerhead.
As consolation there are 3 other lilacs here planted by our predecessors but I wonder which school of garden design they were following when they decided to site them in a distant corner crammed against a 12 foot wall, hidden behind a 30 foot fir tree and a massive lime. Ah well, the flowers produced by these bewildered specimens may be few in number and barely visible except by helicopter but they are incredibly beautiful. Each year I climb up the wall to rescue the most hidden of the blooms and bring them in to decorate the house and to breathe, for just a few days, their spectacular perfume…………
Please click on the images to view full size!
ALL PHOTOS © JANE MORLEY
If you enjoy the photos on my blog please do visit my brand new website www.theartcardpress.com where you will find many more photos, latest news, a host of greeting cards and photographic prints!
View from a French Hillside 
How GORGEOUS! 😉
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Thankyou so much Joanne!
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Amazing!!!! Gorgeous! 🐻
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Thankyou west! Hope you’re OK ?! 🙂 🙂
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The garden sounds delicious, no matter that some things have not grown according to plan! Your lilac photos are grand.
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Thankyou Sarah! It’s true in a strange way I rather like that it has its’ own will and personality despite my efforts at control! Can I ask you a big favour please?!! I’m hoping to move my blog to its’ own web address and new site but unfortunately because of WP glitches this means I won’t appear in the Reader anymore 😦 I’ve set up my new blog here
https://viewfromafrenchhillside.com/ would you mind very much visiting it and perhaps even subscribing if you like it?! Would hate to lose you as a valued follower if I do take the leap into the unknown!! 🙂 🙂
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I’m sad to hear this for self-hosted blogs are a lot less easy to navigate or reblog etc. Of course I’ll subscribe though. I wouldn’t want to lose you!
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I know what you mean Sarah, but there are so many restrictions on wordpress and I think my site looks much nicer in the new version! Will be interested in your feedback – thankyou as always for your lovely support – that’s the side of wordpress I’m worried about losing! Big dilemma 😦
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Nor can I like a post without doing an FB like or tweet a post. Please don’t go! I don’t always want to reveal my likes on FB because it clogs up my personal timeline. Please stay here, pretty please!
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Did you have a look though – it’s much prettier on the new site !!! I know what you mean about FB – I shall have to have a moan at WP – if they would fix one if their plugin things I could stay where I am but use my new site – I think I may end up doing both – split personality fashion!
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I’ve looked and think both sites are as beautiful as each other. Truly!
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I think you are most kind Sarah 😀 Guess I’ll just have to get used to the split personality !
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And subscribed.
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Thankyou! You are a star – but then I think you knew that 🙂
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I see that West invited you to do 5 Photos, 5 Stories. Great. Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
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Thankyou Emilio – and for the follow! It’s a great challenge – looking forward to participating!
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White lilacs are so elegant. I have a bush in a pot now that I have to get planted soon. Great shots.
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Lilacs and roses are my favourites, I hope to plant lots more lilac myself this year!
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