Since arriving in France there has been a steady display of flowers in the garden. The month of April gave us beautiful magnolia blooms, scented lilac flowers (pink and purple) as well as peonies and tall blue iris – all of which have made excellent cut flowers for the entrance hall, kitchen, study and bedrooms.

But it’s the roses that have taken centre stage, flowering continually with the help of regular deadheading. There are older and newer varieties in the garden: bush roses, climbing roses and tea roses. Most are red but there are a couple of pink, white and yellow rose bushes at the back and side of the house.

I was told that plants that grow well in England do very well in this region but I wasn’t quite prepared for how well. Everything seems bigger, lusher and faster growing which is quite an exciting prospect for the cutting and kitchen gardens to come. SCH