Back in late 2015 I was asked by the magazine Living France to write a series of articles about my garden in the Côte d’Azur. I wrote one for each season and couldn’t publish them here on the blog as the magazine, being an actual “old-school” print magazine, requires its readers to purchase a hard copy. Now, however, more than a year later I feel it’s OK to share what I wrote for those of you who missed out first time round.
Autumn comes very late to my garden in the Alpes-Maritimes. The month of September may see slightly cooler temperatures than in July and August, particularly at night, but there’s no sign of a turn yet. Many summer flowers are still in bloom though they are beginning to look a little blousy and past their prime and the lawn is most definitely no longer green. It’s not until November that we really see any typical autumnal scenes with some falling leaves and reds, orange and golden colours gently making an appearance.
I live in a town called Roquefort les Pins, and it’s well named, we are dominated by pine trees. Together with palms, olives and green oaks, this area is mainly evergreen so we don’t get the traditional change of colour in the leaves that is so popular in autumn. Even the ordinary oak trees here only lose their leaves just before new ones sprout in spring rather than autumn. But having said this, if you look around there are little signs of autumn from October onwards.
One of the main jobs in the garden at the end of summer is to cut back the lavender on our 100+ bushes. It’s time-consuming and back-breaking but it smells great! I’m always a little sad when we have to do this as it means summer’s coming to an end and it also means no more gorgeously scented evenings when the lavender fills the air. The trimmed bushes have their own beauty and look tidy but I do so love it when they are in bloom. We usually keep most of the sprigs to make lavender bags and potpourri as well as some decorations. At least this prolongs our enjoyment of our beautifully perfumed, typically Provençal flowers.
While we may not have traditional autumn scenes around us one thing I love as the seasons change is seeing the interesting seed pods left behind after the flowers have finished blooming This is particularly so with some of the crazy weeds we get. As I’ve mentioned in previous articles we leave much of our garden relatively wild and some of the annual self-seeded plants which grow to about two metres are full of odd berries and seeds at this time of year. Birds love them but unfortunately for us these purple fruits result in very dark coloured poo which the birds release on the tiles of the pool, creating nasty stains!
The flowers in our garden hang on till late in the year providing colour through the traditional months of autumn. In October we usually still have oleander, osteospermum, plumbago, bougainvillaea and some roses in bloom and even a second flowering of ceanothus. However the most spectacular colour comes in the form of berries on the cotoneaster bushes, flourishing from October throughout the winter in rich oranges and reds. As we are lucky enough to have blue skies most of the time these berries look wonderful against the bright azure sky.
September and October, even through to early November are lovely months on the Côte d’Azur. The daytime temperatures are warmer than most parts of northern Europe get in full summer and the sea is still warm enough to swim in. While the garden may not look as pretty as in spring, it’s still a colourful attractive place to be, but it’s at this time of year that we sometimes get visits by wild boar. Even though we are in a relatively urban setting, we are surrounded by forests and over the years we have seen many sangliers in the garden; enough unfortunately to require culls. They can do enormous amounts of damage, charging through fences and pretty much ploughing up the lawns. We have had to reseed large parts of grass most autumns thanks to their destructive behavior. But despite the damage they do I still find it amazing that there are so many wild animals so close to town and I’m pleased they exist.
As autumn progresses and rain returns we tend to get plenty of fungi, not only in the damper, darker parts of the garden but all across the lawns too. Sometimes our garden looks like fairies have taken over with crazy ink caps everywhere. The rain brings colour back to our parched lawn and every year no matter how brown it’s become, it always goes green again, justifying our faith in nature.
I’ve written plenty more about the garden at Lou Messugo over the years which you can find here, and if you’d like to know more about my experience writing for a paper magazine just click through here. How does your garden look in autumn? I’d love to hear in the comments.
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Feeling a teeny tiny bit jealous that autumn starts so late for you at Lou Messugo. We came back to Ireland on the last day of August, and summer was already over. Beautiful photos of a lovely garden too. Thanks for hosting #AllAboutFrance
What a lovely idea for a post – I wonder where you got the idea to recycle your Living France gardening posts from?! Now I must get my Autumn one added to the blog over at Eco-Gites of Lenault #AllABoutFrance
Lovely to see you have so many berries for the birds – your winters may not be harsh but I am sure they still love to feast chez Lou Messugo making it a great wildlife sanctuary! #GoingGreen
I think you may well be in the minority! I love a clear sunny winter’s day, but not the endless grey and rain and mild damp that tends to be the norm in much of Europe. Luckily in the south we get lots of sun even in winter so I don’t mind it, but I still prefer summer.
It’s certainly sounds more romantic than it is! But the upside is that it smells great.
I love the look of your garden. Congratulations on taking such evocative photos.
I do like the idea of spending a day cutting lavender although I am sure it’s quite a slog. It sounds rather romantic and idealized though! Findind toadstools in the lawn drives me bonkers but they look quite pretty in your photo. #AllAboutFrance
Autumn is my favourite season and your beautiful garden reminds me of why! It is currently spring here in Melbourne, Australia and while things are colourful, it lacks the elegance that can only come with autumn. #AllAboutFrance
Great photos. I love the seed pods and fungi of autumn #AllAboutFrance
I too enjoy oddly shaped wonderful seed pods. I’d like to spend some time drawing them this winter. My favourite are poppy pods. I remember my partner and I were introduced to Wisteria by the bursting seeds that travelled 10 metres to where we were sitting having an evening apéro. One almost made it into my wine glass! My garden (which sadly consists only of pots…no lavender bushes yet…one day!) is oddly looking the best it has all summer. I think it’s just too hot for a lot of flowering plants here in high summer. My roses are going crazy!
Fab photos. Wonderful colours!
Great pics! I’m eagerly awaiting winter over here. I know people like warm weather and summer, so I guess I’m in the minority. One month of summer is enough for me! Thanks again for hosting another #allaboutfrance!
Phoebe, your pictures are beautiful – such vivid color and evocative scenes! Thanks again for hosting #AllAboutFrance!
Lovely! Autumn is my favorite season, though we don’t get much of it here in Southern California. I’m not complaining, but at times I do miss the crisp sunny days of autumn and the crunch of the turning leavings under my feet. #allaboutfrance
It’s interesting to read about your garden in the south of France. We are in the centre (Loire Valley) and our leaves are already changing colour. Quite a few flowers will keep blooming until the frost comes. We know when it does because all the nastursiums keel over during the night! We know it’s time to protect everything else that doesn’t like low temperatures!
lovely garden!
I love France most in Autumn or Spring. Nature looks beautiful and the temperature is great. It must be great to live over there. Allthough I also love living in Belgium 🙂 #AllAboutFrance
What beautiful things grow in your garden. I love the toadstools. It looks as if a bunch of elves convene there. #AllAboutFrance
What a lovely garden you have. Your climate is quite different from ours over in SW France. Sept was very damp, so plants are still flowering and we have loads of mushrooms! #AllAboutFrance
Hi Phoebe: I am sure your garden is beautiful all year round, but your photos certainly show its autumnal splendour. #AllABoutFrance
What a beautiful garden for autumn – mine looks completely different (apart from the mushrooms) and is dusted with curling leaves. Congratulations for the series of articles in Living France and bon courage with the lavender. We only have 20 bushes, but that’s enough. #AllAboutFrance
Wow what a lovely garden! I have a balcony in East London and an allotment. Transitioning at the moment from summer growing, to winter vegetables and green manure sowing. Enjoying planning what to grow over the winter and for next spring. Visiting from #GoingGreenLinky
I love that purple berry Phoebe. Pity the birds like it too.
I enjoyed reading about your garden phoebe. Lovely photographs too.
It’s good to see you back in business, Phoebe, after your summer break. Our little garden in East Sussex is beginning to look autumnal, though the nasturtiums have suddenly gone mad, smothering everything in their path. And their leaves are a bright, un-autumnal green, showing off their orange-red flowers. The sedums are in full flower, smothered in bees.