When we bought the mill in 2009 over 4/5 of the garden was one big impenetrable bush of nettles and thorns. We seriously had some work to be done. (Read: Back to Basics) Still it was not till last year when we decided to move to some heavier methods. The nettles just kept coming back. We needed Weed Control! Polypropylene fabric was the answer. (Read: We Didn’t Start this War.) We placed it where we replanted the beds and covered it with woodchips. #fail. We learned how to apply polypropylene fabric the hard way… these are the 7 rules:

Rule #1: Do not just place the weed control fabric on top of the soil. Kill and destroy all growing power in the weeds with a sweet Round-Up treatment. Wait for a week or two/three. Then cut everything with a bush cutter and burn it. All roots need to be penetrated with the poison to make sure the first year will be safe.

Rule #2: Do not attempt to put the fabric in a bed with perennials without taking everything out first. Plants that grow together with nettles and thorns are completely  mixed underground. Partly cutting away or taking out nettles does not  save time. It will backfire with 10 times as much of the unwanted green in your flowerbed the same year. You need to carefully take the perennials out, inspect the roots and remove every unwanted and detached root to make sure no weeds remain.

Rule #3: Don’t think the surface will flatter under the fabric after applying. Rocky mountains do not disappear if you walk on them. Before applying the plastic carpet, make sure your bed is flat. It will make sure your chips wont slide off hill. Plastic bumps in your beds are ugly.

Rule #4: Do not expect slugs to be disappear. Your new bed will look nice and slug-unfriendly. Which stickly crawler would like to pass thousands of  wood pieces to reach the juicy green? Right, none. And the wont! They will simply dive under the plastic and sneak their way to your perennials unseen. The holes will tell them where the meal is served. Just keep them out your flower beds your usual way.

Rule #5: Do not be cheap on chips. Woodchips are expensive. You pay easily 5 to 10 euro a bag of 50 kg eq. 1 m2. They promote to have a layer of at least 5 cm thick. Trust me – It’s True! A thinner layer you’ll show every step you make.

Rule #6: Don’t think the plastic will stay put. Our biggest mistake. Working in the garden you walk, move plants, pull the plastic unnoticed. Before you know your plastic has moved a little as 10 centimeters just enough to give air and space to your beloved nettles. Nail the fabric with special bridge-like pins to make sure this does not happen to you.

Rule #7: Don’t cut the holes too far apart. After applying your perfect weed control, you will plant your flowers. Calculate a certain possible growth over the first year or two. If you really don’t want to see wood chips or uncovered plastic, make sure your perennials are not too far apart. There will be nothing in between for the next seasons. Closer and it will be a bed faster.

Take these advices … we learned the hard way and broke every rule above. We know now.

Related articles

• The 4 Different Types of Landscape Fabrics (tdpfibretechnology.wordpress.com)
• Weed Control Landscaping Fabrics – Cody Ireland, Tipperary, Garden & Landscaping Products (hortitrends.wordpress.com)
• How to Use Landscape Fabric (tdpfibretechnology.wordpress.com)
• Fall Gardening for Dummies Planting made easy thanks to these expert tips (theinsider.retailmenot.com)

To get an idea… France does have much the same taxes as other countries. However, there are three main differences between France and many other countries:

• In most countries income tax and social taxes are calculated on an individual basis. In France, they are calculated on a family basis. This means that the income for all family members is added up and then divided by the number of people in the family.
• Tax rates in France are different and generally higher than most other countries.
• There are a number of tax loopholes and exemptions specific to France.

Here you can read the complete explanation of the French tax system.

Image by schoeband via Flickr

But the French are truly something… this weekend the village secretary visited us twice. The first time we didn’t know it was him. We heard a loud banging on wood at 8 in the morning. We were still in bed and kept quiet thinking it must have been somewhere else.

On his second visit on Sunday he found us in the garden. He came to tell us we still had a bill unpaid from 2010. We forgot to pay the Water. The bill got lost in the paper work. He came to tell us in person that we really had to pay the 32 euro bill. He came to warn us that our water will be closed off if we don’t pay in time.  C’est frais.

Welcome to the French Country side. Please don’t tell us the French are cold. They are sweet… really sweet.

Here in France opening a bottle for dinner is a big thing. You don’t just grab a bottle and be surprised about the taste. You have Merlot, Haute Medoc, Pouilly-Fumé, Sancerre, Touraine, Saumur etcetera etcetera. And they all taste different. That you know – right? If not, stop drinking Coca-Cola.

Every year the big hypermarchés like Casino, Cora and Carrefour, offer a wine tasting. And we love it. We go straight to the desk. Spend at least 2 hours with the ‘sommelier’ talking about this and that special light Loire wine that you can accompany roasted chicken or a summer salad. Or about that great Merlot they had last year. We can spend all afternoon tasting one wine after another and have pieces of bread in between glasses.

A little side info. There are four official stages to wine tasting:
Appearance – What does the wine look like? Is it dark or transparent, thick or thin?
“in glass” the aroma of the wine – What doe sit smell like? Fruity, Woody, Nutmeg?
“in mouth” sensations – What does it taste like? Cherry of Butter?
“finish” (aftertaste) – Which flavours remain? It’s not ALL about getting drunk. LOL

The result of this years tasting at Cora? a decent 54 bottles in our ‘cave’.

Related articles

• Wine Tasting for the Newbie (gigirena.com)
• Wine Tasting: warts ‘n all (winetravelfood.wordpress.com)
• Wine Tasting Adventure (mapetitemaisonverte.com)
• Wine Tasting: Spain, Willcox, Chile, Central Coast (circleoffood.com)

Main gate still reflects its lost grandeur.

Driving around we discovered the magnificent monastery of Mont-Dieu. We’ve heard about it but never been there ourselves because it’s not visible from the main road. It’s still feels as remote as it must have been during its period.

Located in the heart of the Ardennes , the monastery of Mont-Dieu was built in an open field in the middle of an immense forest of 1123 hectares, and through which sources, feeding once numerous ponds.

This Carthusian monastery is founded in 1137 by Odo, abbot of Saint-Remi near Reims. Pope Innocent III recognised the new monastery in a bull, that same year on December 9, 1137. The inhabitant monks followed the Rule of Saint Bruno and it was used for live and pray until the French Revolution.

Even while secluded and isolated in remote forest, the abbey was attacked and destroyed several times. During the religious wars, the abbey was rebuilt in 1617, at the time of Louis XIII, with red brick and black and chaining carved stone in the same style as the famous Place Ducal in Charleville. The new monastery was build like a army fortress with a fast area and huge walls. What you see today is less than 10% of the original size.

After the expulsion of the monks in the French Revolution, the buildings were converted into state prison … and many properties and possessions of the abbey, spread over some forty villages, sold as national property in 1791.

The monastery was converted into a jail and later a spinning factory, the important industry in the region of Sedan. The buildings, neglected, vandalized and ruined, were gradually sold as construction material and slowly demolished.

The buildings know many vicissitudes, particularly during the Battle of Stonehouse , May 40, as shown by some walls still riddled with shrapnel. After passing into the hands of various owners, the monastery of Mont-Dieu, still isolated in its splendid isolation, appears to be recovering slowly trying to regain the luster of its golden age disappeared.

sign of this golden age are the numerous famous visitors among whose are pope Eugène III, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, founder of the Cistercian order and Saint Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Cantorbéry.

Only 6 weeks ago, when i was in Shanghai for a conference my partner and Hendrik Dekker (our friend & landscape architect) decided to take a dramatic step. They used the foil that was supposed to cover the paths and covered the squares of perennials and immediately topped it with chopped bark. I was in shock. “It’s so ugly.”

But looking at the first bed with groundcover last weekend i noticed one tiny needle trying to peek out. I killed it. “Hey, we didn’t start the war.” I drove by the garden centre in Reims to buy enough for two more squares. I truely want to enjoy the garden.

If you buy an old neglected garden do not hesitate to cover it all in March when everything is still ‘sleeping’. It saves you a lot of work in the years to come.

Image by Supergites via Flickr

Have you ever looked for a house and found one that was so grand that, even though it was way over your capabilities, you just had to see the inside? It happened to us with this ‘Ferme Des Dames’ near Reims.

Accidentally we ran into this object online. Hugo send me the url and asked me what I would do with this Farm and Chapel. I fell instantly in love with the view, the stones and the atmosphere. These combined form this unique peaceful place to unwind. I could see myself gardening a little in the early morning overlooking the dewy valley. Or sit in the courtyard sipping wine made from the grapes over the terrace. Meanwhile the kids of our friends are running around with a ball. But *G* the place is HUGE.

The land itself is over 1,5 hectare (a bit under 4 acres). The farm and barns might hold about 900 square meters of space. We estimate that the farm could turn into eight guesthouses after renovation excluding the care takers residence who would live at the original farmhouse. The court alone is 30 by 40 meter and could provide a private front garden for each guesthouse. Even the current location of the ‘stink pit’ next to the chapel could turn into this luxurious swimming pool overlooking the valley.

This farm is so inspiring. We cant wait to get our hands on it. Though to purchase this baby is one thing … Trust me, it’s feasible. Renovating it would be 4 times as much and take about 2 years. The result is beyond your wildest dreams.

Maybe we need some help to get this baby fixed.

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Related articles

• Become a farmer for £30 (no experience necessary) (independent.co.uk)

To celebrate and thank our friends, fans and renters we are working on some extra benefits. With a subscription to our Supergîtes Updates you unlock these twice a year. Even though our list is over 270 people long, there’s still a reason why we call these Updates ‘Just for Friends‘.

Become a ‘Friend‘. Join our mailing list today …

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Image via Wikipedia

Sleeping at the French country side especially in an area with small woodlands, the night sounds are exciting. Some say it’s scary and it gives this person the creeps. You can hear the Midwife Toad bleep and the moth hit the lights. But there’s even a bigger joy: the spooky cry of the Strix aluco or the Tawny Owl.

It starts just after sunset and around dawn when these birds are less afraid to be heard or ‘seen’ as you like. It’s when they make sure the rest of the night birds know their territory for the hunt. “IBU, I’m on this side of the valley.”UHU, I know.” They continue their cries for an hour or so before they chose the night for their soundless hunt. You can’t hear them fly at all. This is amazing since they can hold up to a meter in wingspan.

You can read all about these owls at Wikipedia. And you can hear them here and of course at our Supergite at Tourteron.

Related articles

• Owls turn brown as climate warms (news.bbc.co.uk)

We have this problem too. It’s 4,000 m2

We own this enormous field. Walk out of the kitchen, through the orchard and pass through the flower garden, climb the dyke and there it is… one acre of weed. *Gosh* what to do with it? We cut it the first summer, tried to poison it the second but this year we lost the energy to even look at it until now. We have the perfect solution: Let’s Rent a Goat. This is the official call to our fellow denizen:

Chers amis de Tourteron,

Nous avons 4,000 mètre carré qui est inutilisé. Il est plein de mauvaises herbes.Connaissez-vous quelqu’un qui a une chèvre qui a besoin de plus d’espace?Nous aimerions apporter notre territoire de placer la chèvre. Elle peut mangertoutes les mauvaises herbes gratuitement.

Marco et Hugo