Gardening in France
CONTENTS
Gardening in France
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After previously co-founding Abacalys International, a Normandy landscaping company, I created www.jardinjarvis.com, and now work as an online garden designer and landscape project manager with selected contractors whose work caters to the unique preferences of each client.
My belief is that a garden should be eco-friendly, naturally beautiful, full and lush but above all sustainable and inspired by nature. Here in France, where I have lived and raised my 3 Franglais children, the concept of sustainable gardening only just begun to take root in 2008.
I offer design suggestions, draw borders, and suggests plants for a site as well as including tips about where to find plants and products. I have always made low maintenance green solutions which bear in mind that the garden is there to be enjoyed a priority. More about me.
Elaine Jarvis, Topic Host
If you have any questions for Elaine, whose expertise lies in eco-gardening, or our Poitou-Charentes Gardening Topic Host Sheilah Kennedy, whose expertise lies in, among other things, organic gardening, growing under plastic and nursery work, or if you would like to make a contribution to the zone please get in touch.
30 Wildlife Friendly Plants
Editor's picks
"The French love English roses!" says the Liddell family, who started their own flower company after moving to France more...
At the garden centre - a glossary
If you have a garden or even a window box to maintain at your home in France, you may well need to make a trip to the local garden centre from time to time. This glossary is designed to help you find your way around la jardinerie.
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Herbal healing gardens in France
As herbal healing gardens regain their popularity in France, Elaine Jarvis has been called on to design one for the International Garden Festival at Chaumont-Sur-Loire. more...
Holiday watering problems solved
A Yorkshire company has developed a solution to the age old problem of keeping your plants watered while you are on holiday.
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Growing herbs indoors this winter
Another way to start a winter herb garden indoors is to move plants from your garden into your kitchen, says gardening topic host Elaine Jarvis.
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Green roofing - what are the benefits?
There are numerous good reasons for considering the landscaping of flat roofs. To start with it offers an effective and practical use of space, whilst helping to sustain and replace lost habitats in the process.
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The Art of Landscaping
In addition to the sale value of your property, proper landscape installation will insure less expense over time and greater satisfaction, says gardener Elaine Jarvis...
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Growing under polythene and glass in France
Gardener Sheilah Kennedy provides us with her top tips for growing vegetables in a tunnel, discussing the best times of the year to plant certain seeds, including beans, brocolli, peas and spinach...
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Grow your own vegetables
Few experiences can match the pleasure of savouring your own home grown vegetables. The process is almost magical, especially when raised from a seed or seedling. The flavour and texture of varieties you can grow far exceed anything you can buy in a shop. Growing vegetables is also a pleasurable activity in its own right, giving you an excuse to spend time outdoors.
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Grass cutting mulch, slug control and bulbs
There's no need to waste your grass cuttings - here's how to use them in your garden. Also, natural control for slugs and snails and advice on the care of bulbs during dry summers
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Early autumn jobs
The days may be getting shorter but there are still things to do in the garden...
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How to tell if your apples and pears are ready to be picked and taking cuttings
August is when apples and pears start to ripen. Here's how to know if they're ready to eat. Plus what cuttings can be taken now and other seasonal tasks
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Dealing with tomato and potato blight; and white worm
Continuous rain and damp can wreak havoc on the vegetable garden, in particular tomatoes and potatoes. Here's what you can do to save your crops
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The plague of the black bugs
Are your pumpkin plants covered in tiny black bugs? Find out who the culprit is...
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More mulch, fruit trees and caterpillar and aphid control
What do do before you use your grass cuttings as mulch, re-flowering fruit trees, and an eco solution for leaf munching bugs
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Large gardens and old apples trees
Back in the UK you had a garden the size of a postage size - here's it's a couple of acres (or more!). Here are a few suggestions on what to do, plus advice on cleaning up old apple trees
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Feeding after torrential rain and planting hedges
If you've had lots of rain in your area, here's what you need to do now to help your plants. And advice when planting a hedgemore...
Improving top soil; how to deadhead roses; what to do with sick apricot trees
A less back-breaking way to better soil, plus expert advice on how to dead-head roses. And if your apricot tree is ill, here's what you must not do
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+++++ Real Lives +++++
First-hand accounts of gardening in France from FrenchEntreé readers. Have you got a story - tell us about it!.Battling rocks, weeds and no water
What's it like to garden in a hot, dry climate? Lindsay Nixon tells how a lot of hard work transformed a rough, tough land into a beautiful garden. more...
When moles attack...
Fed up with the ever growing mounds if dirt in his garden, one FrenchEntrée reader embarked on an explosive battle against moles. And topic host Mike Curtis gives his safer alternative!
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Smallholdings in France
Try our Smallholdings Topic! - Guidance on starting out with livestock, and other indispensible tips and advice for smallholders in France... Smallholdings in France Topic
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