Author: carolinewright201

After being a course leader and lecturer in Horticulture at Nottingham Trent University for nearly 20 years I am now working on a new venture in Limousin, France. In our plant nursery and garden school we aim to carry on sharing our passion for horticulture and natural crafts.
Specialist subjects include plant science, propagation, plant identification, specialist traditional and modern pruning and maintenance techniques. We also teach greenwood crafts, weaving, stained glass art and other crafts using natural materials.

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Learn how to make flower sculptures for your garden out of chicken wire. These anemone or daisy flowers look great among your border plants and can be left plain or sprayed for additional colour in the garden all year round! You will make a pair of flowers attached to a spike.

This afternoon workshop is suitable for beginners and is a good starting point for anyone wanting to learn how to use this readily available material for making decorative pieces. We supply all of the materials to make a pair of flowers on a single spike plus light refreshments.  Chicken wire is fairly malleable and easy to bend using pliers but does require a little strength and dexterity.

Thursday 30th July 1.00 – 4.30 – 40€ per person

To book onto this workshop you can use the online booking system below. This is a secure PayPal system but card payments are also accepted. If you have any difficulty using this system or prefer to pay by cheque then use the contact form also below to get in touch to check availability and request a booking form.

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We will be offering another chance to make chicken wire Allium flowers on this popular workshop.

This half day workshop teaches you some basic chicken wire sculpture skills and you will make 3 Allium flowers on spikes to decorate your garden. They flower all year round!!

The workshop will run from 1-4pm on Saturday 25th July

35€ per person. Light refreshments are included as well as all materials  to make 3 flower heads on spikes.

You can book onto this workshop using the online payment system below (this is a secure PayPal system that also takes card payments). If you prefer to send a cheque or have any problems using this system then  please use the contact form below to check availability and request booking information – you can also use this contact form for any questions you may have.


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Learn basic glass cutting and joining techniques alongside creating a beautiful garden ‘Suncatcher’. You will have a range of coloured glass to choose from and you can create your own colour combinations. Your Suncatcher will measure approximately 10 cm wide and 45 cm tall excluding the legs for inserting into the ground or a pot.

(*note that the feature glass pieces containing bee, dragonfly and flower images etc are made by a local artist and are additional to the basic cost – prices range from 3-5€ for 10cm x 4-6cm)

The workshop will run from 1-5pm on Tuesday 28th July and costs 65€ per person – this includes the basic materials and light refreshments.

Places are limited to 4 people per session. If you would like to book out a bespoke group session for you and your friends for 4 people please use the contact form to enquire about dates.

!! THIS WORKSHOP IS NOW FULLY BOOKED. IF YOU WOULD LIKE US TO PUT ON ANOTHER WORKSHOP PLEASE USE THE CONTACT FORM BELOW TO REQUEST AN EXTRA DATE

 

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We will be offering another chance to make chicken wire Allium flowers on this popular workshop.

This half day workshop teaches you some basic chicken wire sculpture skills and you will make 3 Allium flowers on spikes to decorate your garden. They flower all year round!!

The workshop will run from 1-4pm on Tuesday 7th July

35€ per person. Light refreshments are included as well as all materials  to make 3 flower heads on spikes.

THIS WORKSHOP IS NOW FULLY BOOKED WE HAVE ANOTHER RUNNNG ON 25TH JULY PLEASE GET IN TOUCH IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN or click on this link to view the post: CHICKEN WIRE ALLIUMS 25TH JULY


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img_3051.jpgThis half day workshop will cover basic growing techniques for a range of culinary and medicinal herbs and will also look at harvesting, drying, preserving and preparing herbs for teas, oils and preparations for natural skin care and well being, aromatherapy, potpourri, candles etc.

We will take a close look at 12 common plants that can be grown in the French climate that have useful properties in the home as well as well as being decorative in the garden.

(**note that this course does not formally cover herbal medicine or homeopathy but explores the use of common aromatic and herbal plants and botanicals, their properties and use in natural home made preparations)

Thursday 23rd July 2020 1.00-4.00. 35€ per person.

To book onto this course you can use the online payment system below. If you prefer to pay by cheque, have difficulty using the online system or would like to know a bit more about the course please use the contact form below to check availability, request a booking form or more information.

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IMG_0485We are happy to announce that our nursery will start opening as normal from Saturday 16th May! Customers will also be able to access the garden during nursery hours. (10-4 Saturdays). All visitors  will need to respect the hygiene and social distancing rules that apply to all shops and public spaces: Please wear gloves & stay 1 metre away from other customers, in the polytunnel we also ask you to wear a mask and we will be restricting the number of people in the polytunnel at any one time to 4.

We advise that if you want to purchase plants that you bring a cheque, we can also carry out transactions by PayPal. Cash is not advised for the time being.

If you prefer to stay isolated for the time being, our latest plant availability list & order form along with delivery costs and details are online on our Nursery and Garden webpage  and we will continue to make deliveries (we can go a bit further now!)  You can also access the plant list below .

COURSES: We are also hoping to offer certain courses from early June (subject to any further restrictions) and are busy making modifications to our teaching spaces and methods in order to be able to offer courses safely. Watch this space for details as soon as we can confirm.

Perennial Plant list May 2020

Perennials order form May 2020

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Here at Le Jardin Créatif we are doing our best to respond to our customers and adapt our normal products and services to the current situation. We have been creating a series of videos for those who were unable to attend the ‘Veg growing for beginners’ course scheduled for last month. We have had such a huge response from customers wanting vegetable plants and seeds, many trying ‘home growing’ for the first time that we realise this might be an opportunity to reach out to a wider audience and share our years of experience and passion for vegetable growing.

We will send you a link to our You Tube channel Playlist: ‘Vegetable Growing’ which contains a series of short videos demonstrating key techniques and discussing different methods of cultivating the main vegetable groups, starting from early spring there are several videos there already to get you going and we will continue to post weekly throughout the main growing season.

You will also receive by email a series of articles and notes that accompany the videos.

SDC14961We start by looking at a basic crop rotation plan and then go through seed sowing, potting on, planting out. Looking in detail at cultivating the main vegetable groups: Potatoes, root crops, onions, peas and beans, squashes and courgettes, salad crops, and will also be exploring alternative growing techniques, organic pest and disease prevention, building soil fertility, organic principles, companion planting etc. The existing video collection will be added to as we carry out timely activities on our vegetable plot over the season.

We will offer a question and answer service to subscribers via email.

Cost: 30 euros per person.

You will need a PC, Laptop or tablet which has sound and access to the internet to view the videos. The articles and notes will be sent in PDF format.

To subscribe you can purchase straight away using the online system below. This is a secure PayPal system but you do not need to have a PayPal account to use it, card payments are also accepted (you select quantities and proceed to the next stage where there is a ‘card payment’ button below the PayPal info. Once we receive notification of your payment we will email you a link and attach the notes. Updates will be posted throughout the season.

Vegetable Growing for beginners Online Course

Vegetable Growing for beginners online course

€30.00

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Sorrel Soup is tasty and nutritious and is just the job when you are feeling a bit run down as it is packed with vitamins, iron and also super tasty. French Sorrel or ‘buckle leaf sorrel’ is related to the ‘dock’ plant and is fairly easy to recognise as the habit and leaves are similar to dock but they are smaller. I cultivate in my potager because I love the fresh zingy lemony flavour and it is needed in fairly large quantities for soup. You can also eat the leaves raw in salads, or cooked in a creamy sauce.

All of the plant ingredients for this soup were either foraged or home grown. I started by gently frying a medium onion cut into chunks, then added some chunks of potatoes and continue to sauté until the potatoes take on a bit of colour. Then add the washed and chopped sorrel leaves and continue to sauté until they wilt. (quantities are guestimated!) Then add water and a stock cube and simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are cooked, season to taste. Blend until smooth and serve with croutons. I normally add hot chilli sauce to all of my soups but the flavour of the sorrel needs to shine in this one, you can add garlic if you like it but I think it doesn’t need it. You can make a similar soup using young nettle tops which is also superb.

Wild leek
Wild Garlic
Jack by the Hedge
Nettle
Mullein
Sorrel (cultivated)
Cultivated Sorrel
Wild sorrel

Walking along the chemin by our land, I spotted a number of edible plants – wild leeks, wild garlic, ‘Jack by the Hedge’ (poor mans garlic) also nettles, mullein (makes a good alternative to toilet paper I am told!!)  Don’t confuse sorrel with Arum (lords and Ladies) which is poisonous, The leaves are a similar ‘arrow’ shape but are significantly bigger, sometimes ‘spotted’ and you can see the unusual spadix of the flower.

IMG_0305
Arum Lily or Lords and Ladies – all parts are POISONOUS

 

Heres the link for the NETTLE SOUP RECIPE

Look out for our new online Veg growing course to be launched in the next few days, use the contact form below if you are interested or have any questions:

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We have been busy propagating a variety of vegetable plants which are now available to order & collect. You can come and collect them contactlessly from our new ‘Drive Through’ facility  (a collection point by our small car park).

You can view or current list of available varieties and order form on our Nursery and Garden webpage, or you can find them below. You can edit the order form electronically and return as an email attachment.  Alternatively you can print and fill in by hand, or send us a hand written or typed list by email please to lejardincreatif87@gmail.com (not via Facebook) Please also note the following:

  • We propagate everything ourselves in small batches so we may run out of popular varieties – we will substitute for similar varieties where possible.
  •  To try and achieve an efficient service we need at least 24 hours notice to prepare your order. Out drive through will be open on Wednesday and Saturday mornings only starting on 18th April. Please give us notice of when you are coming.
  • You are advised to be out on route for ‘essential shopping’ when you come to collect and we can only offer edible plants this way.
  • It is still very early for some varieties of veg (particularly the peppers, tomatoes and chillies) and they will be supplied as young plants that will need to be grown on in a protected environment until after the night frosts have passed in mid-May.
  •  Orders will be processed on a first come first served basis until we run out!
  •  You may also be interested in our online Veg growing course that we are launching later this week!
  • Please return order forms by email to: lejardincreatif87@gmail.com – not via facebook please

Here is the availability list as it stands on 14th April:

Vegetable plants and edibles available 2020

Order form Vegetable plants and edibles 2020

We can also deliver within 20km, subject to a minimum order of 30€ – There is a 5€ delivery charge or free for orders over 60€. You can combine veg and decorative plants for delivery.

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During the period of confinement we are able to deliver our full range of perennial garden plants and sundries, as long as we stick to a contactless delivery system where plants are pre-ordered and we wear the recommended protective gloves and mask while packing and delivering to your gate. You can browse our list pf plants by downloading the Hardy Perennials availability list below – the plant list is simply my list of ‘labels’ for the nursery, it is in no particular order other than the order that I have produced the plants and labelled them BUT it has pictures and descriptions of each plant so you can browse through the list at your leisure – the order form is in alphabetical order (by botanical name) so you can easily find any plant you wish to order. PLEASE NOTE – we propagate everything ourselves and therefore stocks are limited for some varieties. We are busy propagating now for a whole range of new introductions later this spring.

Deliveries will be restricted to Thursday mornings and a 20km radius (see order form for details of delivery rates and ordering). Download the order form and return by email to let us know what you would like, we will check availability and reply with details of how to pay (by PayPal or cheque only) and delivery times. You can also print it, fill in manually and scan it or post it to us.

You can also visit our webpage NURSERY AND GARDENS for details of seeds available by mail order as sell as the perennial range

AVAILABILITY LIST AND ORDER FORM: CLICK IN THE LINKS BELOW

Hardy Perennials availability March 2020

Perennials order form March 2020

You can also contact us using this form:

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