Country or city delights?

The dead of winter is the time to view a country property with the intent of purchasing it, as it will hardly disappoint you later. When we first visited La Placette Haute in January it was raining and the two houses – uninhabited for years – smelt of the damp, the surrounding woods looked forlorn. It was not clear what, if anything, would blossom later.

What a difference to see the place again in mid-March, in fine weather, with the first leaves budding, plum trees flowering, splashes of color amid shrubs and lawns. We threw open the doors and windows to let in warm air - for after the harsh gray winter of Paris, the sight of green fields, and the feel of tree bark heated by the sun, made us forget all the amenities of the city.

Yet Paris welcomed us back with its own spring melody of fresh new leaves and flowers, streets suddenly filled with happy crowds as if heading to a picnic. It will be difficult to leave right now, what with the city’s blossoming gardens and parks, streets more tempting than ever, the myriad events.

In the short span of one month we’ve seen an exhibition of the brothers Caillebotte at the Jacquemart-André museum, another of Pierre Bonnard at Giverny, and a retrospective of Monet at the Marmottan. A passion for the outdoors, and for their gardens, is what these artists had in common. So here we go, itching for the adventure of our own little patch, a garden! Not something to be taken lightly.

The Arabs say that a man able to create a garden has fulfilled his mission in life. I am heartened that at La Placette there is an ancient horse chestnut tree, a mature cherry laurel that has adapted to the corner of a porch, pines and oaks forming a beautiful screen around the perimeter. There is also an old box tree, at least two or three rose bushes, and a bamboo grove whose stalks can be harvested to make fences and supports for climbing vines like we saw in Monet’s garden at Giverny.

The terraced land around the two cottages seems ready for a bit of green geometry: a lavender edge? A pergola-covered walkway? A uncomplicated grass parterre, à la française? So far my gardening skills have been limited to mowing lawns and weeding gravel driveways. Are Dan and I heading for a full fiasco?

Readers of real estate adventures in exotic countries usually hope for disaster or misfortune, triggered either by the ingenuity of the newcomers or the malicious intent of the natives – if nothing else to add drama and zest to what might otherwise be a boring story. We shall see.