Our trip to Monet’s home and garden at Giverny a few months ago influenced us to attempt a kitchen scheme based on his there, at least as far as the color choices and general feel. Accordingly, we’ve chosen a French lavender hue for the walls and will paint the ceiling with celadon green lacquer to copy the mesmerizing effect Monet achieved whereby the copper pans and brass objects on walls and shelves are reflected above. The painting has begun and I fancied myself painting like Monet, albeit Monet the house painter not the exquisite artist of water lilies and pools of water!
The Fete of Saint Jean (June 24) in France is a time for bonfires and fireworks so we finally lit our towering pile of branches taking advantage of recent cool temps and days of light mist to avoid the possibility of setting half of Dordogne alight. (The region is suffering a severe drought this year.) The fire burned brightly into the night, carefully tended by us and warily stalked by Arcadio who wasn’t sure he approved the idea. It has now settled into a small smoldering pile refreshed from time to time by new batches of weeds and leaves from our ongoing gardening work.
The latest toil of that sort includes clearing yet another stonewall and preparing a strip along its base with the intent of planting a long row of lavender to augment the big spread of it on the terrace above. The French believe lavender helps ward away mosquitoes as well as making a showy and easy-to-manage border for a sunny dry spot. Part of this daylong chore involved digging out the elaborate drainage system, clearing buried concrete tubes of five or six buckets of stinky muck. Pure grueling work and not the romantic side of gardening – but essential.
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