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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IMG_0676Come along and learn the art of making animal sculptures out of willow. Make a majestic stag’s head to take home.

You will learn the basics of using willow as a medium for sculpture and create an impressive stag head sculpture over the course of the day.

Saturday 22nd September 10.00-4.00, light lunch and all materials included: 60€

 

THIS COURSE IS NOW CLOSED FOR BOOKINGS AS WE HAVE TO SOAK THE WILLOW FOR 5 DAYS PRIOR TO THE COURSE, IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A STAGS HEAD WE ARE HOLDING ANOTHER COURSE ON 10TH OCTOBER

To book onto the course you can use the ‘buy now’ button below. This is a secure PayPal transaction but you do not need a PayPal account to use it. We will send you confirmation and more details when we have received your booking.

If you prefer to pay by cheque then you can reserve a place by using the enquiry form below, if there are places available we will send you a booking form and further information.

 

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Epidermis through the microscope showing stomatal pores

This autumn we are offering a short course in basic botany. Learn about the fascinating world of plants and find out what makes them grow and respond to the environment around them. Learn useful about their metabolism and reproduction, morphology and anatomy and how this knowledge can be applied to successful cultivation.

We are running 5, 2 hour sessions fortnightly from 1-3pm starting on 20th September, continuing on 4th October, 18th October, 1st November, finishing on 15th November covering the following topics:

  1. Plant anatomy
  2. Growth, development and nutrition
  3. Flowering and reproduction
  4. The external environment
  5. Plant Indentification & classification
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Fibonacci in flowers

The level of the course will be similar to that of an RHS or NVQ level 2 and is aimed at keen amateur gardeners who want to learn a little bit of plant science that is applicable in the garden and gain more enjoyment from the fascinating world of plants.

The total cost of the course is 80€

To book onto the course you can use the ‘buy now’ button below. This is a secure PayPal transaction but you do not need a PayPal account to use it. If you prefer to send a cheque please use the contact form below to reserve a place, we will send you further details when we receive your booking or reservation. If you have any questions about the course please use the contact form below.


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SDC11679If you are growing cordon, espalier, fan trained or other ‘restricted’ forms of fruit trees on dwarfing rootstocks, now is the time for summer pruning. In France we can start this process a little earlier than in England which is usually late July. The ideal time is when the lateral shoots that have grown all along the main stems are roughly as thick and as long as a pencil.

You need to cut all of these new stems back to a couple of buds, this will keep the shape of the tree restricted and in form, it will also reveal the fruits and main branches which will allow sunshine to ripen the fruits, making them sweeter, tastier and give them a red

bloom. It will also allow sunshine to ripen the wood of the main branches and spurs which helps to strengthen the wood, prepare for dormancy and induce bud formation for next years flowers and fruits.

We will be holding a demonstration at Le Jardin Creatif on Saturday 30th June at 11.00am FREE. Come along on Saturday and find out more.

SDC11677

 

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Have a go at chicken wire sculpture and make a cute hedgehog to display in your garden or give to someone as a gift.

This course is aimed at beginners and will teach the basics of sculpting with chicken wire. The course will run from 11.00-3.00 on Wednesday 12th September. 35 Euros per person. A light lunch is included as well as all materials and you will be able to take home your hedgehog.

You will need to wear comfortable work clothes and bring some gardening gloves.

IMG_0162If you enjoy this beginners course we will be offering intermediate courses later this year to make chicken, cockerel or duck sculptures for the garden.

We will send you confirmation and further information once we have received your payment. If you prefer to send us a cheque please use the enquiry form below to reserve a place on the course, if we have places available we will email a booking form to you.

To book onto Wednesday 12th September use the buy now button below:

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If you have any questions or comments about the course please use the enquiry form below

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Now is the time to pickle some walnuts! If you have never tried pickled walnuts before then you may not appreciate the subtle flavour combination of pickled walnuts with a good cheese, traditionally eaten at Christmas time but an excellent pairing at any time of the year.

Pickled walnuts do not look attractive as they turn a deep brown colour as they mature, and resemble sliced brains….. but dont let this put you off!

20180610_174149167_iOSWalnuts are pickled whole in their outer husk before the inner shell starts to harden. They should be picked before they reach full maturity and should be around the size of a quails egg or slightly larger, this is usually around mid-June, to determine the best time for pickling you need to pick one off the tree and cut it in half, if the shell is still soft and they are a reasonable size then they are ready for pickling. You dont need many to fill a jar, maybe around 10 to a dozen per jar. There are plenty on the trees this year so you won’t miss them at harvest time.

You then need to prick them several times each with a sharp knife or fork and drop them straight into a brine mixture, avoid getting any juice on your hands or clothing because it stains a dark brown very quickly. They will need to stay in brine for two to three weeks depending on their size, change the brine each week (you can make brine easily by dissolving salt in cold water).

After the brining period they are ready to pickle. You should rinse them first and then leave them to oxidise for a few hours so that they go an even brown colour all over (they will start to brown in patches during the brining process). Then pack into jars and cover with hot vinegar – you can use red wine, white wine or cider vinegar that has been heated with a few pickling spices such as star anise, allspice and peppercorns and a desert spoon of sugar to reduce the acidity slightly.

They need to be stored for a few months before eating, ideally until Christmas!

Serve with cheese and port.

 

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Grape vines are vigorous and prolific and can quickly get out of hand but training them is straight forward and getting the best out of the fruits is simple but it does take a little maintenance.

All over France you will see neat vineyards and immaculately trained vines, on a large scale this is usually done using specialist machinery but we can adapt the principles to pruning your vines on a domestic scale.

 

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Before pruning

Grown against a wall, the usual method is similar to the ‘Geneva Double curtain’, this system consists of permanent main stems or ‘rods’ trained in the shape of a capital ‘T’. If you are planting a new vine, this is easy to achieve, simply pinching the top out when it reaches the height that you want it and then allowing two stems to grow from this, training them in horizontally as wide as you want them to go. This may take the first growing season to achieve. In the second year you will find that many new stems appear from all along the horizontal top of the ‘T’ (you may also get some up the vertical). Look carefully at these stems around early June and you will be able to see the tiny bunches of flowers which will become the grapes. If you want ‘dessert’ grapes for eating, you want to encourage them to grow as big as possible, so only allow one bunch per stem. Cut off the rest of the stem including any additional bunches of grapes one bud beyond the bunch that you are keeping, this may seem harsh

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After

but it will channel all of the energy into one bunch, making them bigger and better quality and they will ripen better with more sunlight getting to them. If you are growing for wine then you can allow two bunches to form on each stem, the grapes will be smaller but with a more intense flavour. (see video below). The ‘Double Guyot’ System is more suitable for vines grown in rows in the field, look out for further information in a future post!

 

 

After harvesting in the late summer you can then cut back each stem to one bud, keeping the T shaped main rod in place. You will get regrowth the following year from each of the buds along these main stems. Grapes grow on ‘new wood’ i.e. the newly developing stems each year so you can keep them neatly trained in and if you need to renovate them you can cut them hard back and still get grapes in the current year. Major pruning should be done between harvesting and Christmas time because the vines will bleed heavily once the sap starts to rise in late winter.

 

 

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Come along and make a dragonfly or a bee out of woven willow to mount onto a wall or stake in your garden.

This course is suitable for beginners and a good starting point for anyone wanting to learn how to make realistic sculptures out of freestyle woven willow.

The course runs from 11.00-3.00 on Saturday 28th July and includes a light lunch and all materials needed to make a medium sized dragon fly (approx. 80-100cm) or a bee (approx. 40-60cm)

Price per person is 40€

To book a place on this course you can use the buy now button below. This is a secure Paypall transaction but you do not need a Paypall account to use it. If you prefer to pay by cheque then please use the enquiry form below to check availability and request a booking form. Any questions – use the contact form below.


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Have a go at chicken wire sculpture and make a cute hedgehog to display in your garden or give to someone as a gift.

This course is aimed at beginners and will teach the basics of sculpturing with chicken wire. The course will run from 11.00-3.00 on Saturday 4th August. 35 Euros per person. A light lunch is included as well as all materials and you will be able to take home your hedgehog.

You will need to wear warm comfortable work clothes and bring some gardening gloves.

IMG_0162If you enjoy this beginners course we will be offering intermediate courses later this spring to make chicken, cockerel or duck sculptures for the garden.

We will send you confirmation and further information once we have received your payment. If you prefer to send us a cheque please use the enquiry form to reserve a place on the course.

THIS COURSE IS NOW FULLY BOOKED – WE HAVE A EXTRA DATE ON 12TH SEPTEMBER: Make a hedgehog out of chicken wire Wednesday 12th September

To book onto Saturday 4th August use the buy now button below:

If you have any questions or comments about the course please use the enquiry form below

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Learn the principles of garden design on this two day course.

The course covers a brief history of garden design and how this influences modern design principles. You will explore the principles of good design, colour theory and discuss a variety of different styles.

You will then look at how to survey a garden and create a basic scale drawing of your garden.  You will go on to add design elements to the plan and learn how to create planting plans.

The course covers all that you need to be able to redesign your own garden and create basic designs and planting plans for friends, family and clients.

The course will run over two days giving you time to survey your garden and bring along your sketches to the second day.

Both days will include a light lunch. We will supply materials that you need to create your scale drawing for use on the course and can advise on basic equipment required to set yourself up at home.

10.00- 3.00 on Thursday 19th July and Thursday 26th July: 80€

To book onto the course please use the buy now button below. If you have any questions please use the enquiry form:


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Any questions please use the contact form below:

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img_0965All around us at the moment is the sweet aroma of the Robinia pseudoacacia (false acacia) flowers. Last summer our French neighbour recommended that we try making beignets – fritters – with them. Having tried elderflower fritters we were keen to have a go.

 

I made a simple light batter out of a 50/50 mix of cornflour and plimg_0966ain flour, beaten egg and a drop of sparkling white wine as there happened to be a bottle open! (You could use beer or sparkling water) you then dip the flowers into the batter by holding onto the main stem, let some of the excess drain off and then fry until golden in hot oil, this only takes a couple of minutes.

We served this as a savoury dish with tapas, they go nicely with a yogurt and tahini dip or a smokey chilli salsa but you can also drizzle with honey and eat as a desert with crème fresh. Yum!