People's Gardens - Périgord Style

It probably comes as no surprise that a culture that prizes its public gardens also takes great pride in the landscape much closer to home.

A major source of joy for me in these bastide villages is the ways in which folks bring nature into an ecosystem made seemingly of solid stone.

Some people have true backyards or front gardens, others terraces, and still others nothing more than a simple stoop.  Walking on the cobblestone streets and down tiny alleys, I am both awed by the longevity of imposing medieval buildings and charmed and somehow relieved to see tiny pink flowers peeking out through cracks, majestic roses towering over front doors, hidden glimpses of backyard paradises, colorful pots clustered in what feels like a bright Bienvenue!

The downside of this wonderful state of affairs is that being a part timer here is not terribly condusive to cultivating a proper garden on par with my lovely neighbors'.

Not only are these personal garden spaces a delight to gaze upon, they are often quite practical.  Even in the smallest of spaces, a few pots or a patch of ground, fruit and veggies are intertwined with the showy blooms.

And the soil and climate of the Dordogne - so different than our hardpan clay packed full of giant stones on our little rock outside Seattle - mean that food just grows and grows.  A dear neighbor of mine, in October, basically gave me the keys to her tomato plants because she was tired of so many tomatoes (and also a very kind friend) when she heard me lament how I missed having my own.

I'm not sure if or when I'll be in a position to grow tomatoes for real in France, but in the meantime, I'll settle for these sweet little crocuses that were still in my backyard to greet me when I arrived in the fall,

 (A note:  I apologize for the uneven fonts and formatting; this platform has some challenges. I hope it is not too distracting.)