Chinese Crackers

The absolute star of our Spring, or should I say early Summer garden has been the Lijiang Rose which as its name suggests has come to us from China, via in our case la Rosereraie du Desert. The flowers are very strong pink, but what gives it its 'gosh factor' is the immense quantity of flower, and the height to which it will grow. Ours is climbing up a dead tree and has only reached about 3 meters but apparently if circumstances permit it could go to ten. Alas, nothing is completely perfect in this world, and as regards the Lijiang Rose the sadness is that it is only once flowering and this early in the season. It also, as already suggested, needs a large space, so it is for the large garden, but its leaves are very healthy and not unattractive in their own right, so for a large Gascony garden I suggest that it is a must.

Technically it is not in fact a China Rose. Most of you will have come across some of these even if you did not know that they were China, for instance Mutabilis that large coppery single flowered rose that is almost continuously in flower, perhaps also Sanguinea, which one might call a red version of Mutabilis, and one of my favourites. But if you visit La Rosereraie you will find over fifty different varieties. For a Gascony gardener they have the great advantage of enjoying our summer heat while most of them repeat extremely well.  The nursery, situated near Aignan in the West Gers, is having a 'portes ouvertes' on Sunday May the 4th. I am told that the garden is looking particularly good this year as a result of our mild winter, so if you like a rose, make an effort to go. And I can guarantee you that even if you think that you know something about roses, you will see roses there that you have never seen before.

Our other Chinese Crackers have been the Tree paeonies. They flower earlier than the herbaceous ones, and ours are already over. Moreover, as with all paeonies their flowers are over in a thrice, which is to say about three days. On the other hand during those three days they are wondrous to behold, so if you are looking for 'gosh factors' they are well worth having, the only snag being that they are rather expensive to obtain. We are lucky enough in the Gers - at Montegut not far from Auch - to have in Richard Pardo at the La Pivoine Bleue a leading paeony expert and a visit to the nursery at this time of year is a mind blowing experience, but do not forget to take your check book with you as you can find yourself in three figure sums all too easily.  I was lucky enough to be given one of his Gansu Mudan tree paeony hybrids, and even luckier to have produced some new ones from seed. These have only taken three years to produce their first flowers. These do not come true but that is rather the fun of it, and I am very happy with what I have got. It should be said that you can find them at a rather more affordable price at a garden centre. The plant itself will be less good, and no doubt forced in order to produce a flower as early as possible, but, and this is really the only point that I wish to make, since I am in no way an expert, in my experience they are, despite appearances, extremely tough. Mine are planted on a south facing hillside and are given no special treatment, except by deer, which on fortunately only one occasion attacked them, and despite this they seem to flourish. And one last thing. The flowers may last all too briefly, but the foliage remains very attractive all summer long, so however you obtain them they are well worth having.

Don't forget the Ipheions

My impression is that they are rather neglected, which is a pity. For those who have never come across them, they are small bulbs, their leaves slightly smelling of onion, so that you might think that they are alliums, especially as their leaves have a rather allium look about them. Their flowers are star-shaped, none of the varieties more than 15cms high, and these appear early, which is to say right now. The bog standard I.uniflorum is what I would call a rather dirty white, though in the catalogues it will be a very pale blue, with apparently some scent, though I would not buy it on that account. I.un. Wisley Blue is certainly more blue and has moreover won for itself an Award of Garden Merit from the RHS, as has I.un. Froyle Mill, which is of a much stronger colour on the purplish side of blue. I.un. Jessie, this new to me, is a deep blue, while I.un.Charlotte Bishop is almost claret. All these are in fact worth having, as they clump up well to make a good show, die down quickly, if you forget where they are they do not seem to mind being disturbed, and they come free of problems. But for me the stars are I. Alberto Castillo and I.Rolf Fielder. The former looks much like the others so far mentioned but with bigger and definitely white flowers so creating a bigger impact. I.Rolf Fiedler is rather different being much lower to the ground, and it does not clump up in quite the same way, though it does slowly increase. You might think that this would make it a less desirable plant, but so intense is its blue, that even one flower will catch the eye from afar.

Also I suspect rather neglected are the early flowering buddlejas. We have got three in flower at this moment. Perhaps my least favourite is B.officinalis. Its flowers are a very pale lilac, but in sufficient quantity to make a good show. What I do not like about it is its habit, rather too upright, making a rather gaunt bush, even when pruned back after flowering.  B. agathosoma's flowers are also a pale lilac, but what makes this a particularly attractive plant is the combination of flower and leave, the colour of the leaves being a silvery grey. I have planted mine in a very difficult spot, that is to say towards the top of a South facing slope, and it suffers because of this, but it still gives me great pleasure, as apparently it does the great Irish gardener, Hellen Dillon, who recommended it in a recent edition of 'The Garden'. But the star of the show for me is B.officinalisVicomte de Noailles. It is the first year that it has done for me, as it has taken about three years to get to any size, but what a picture it is making. Its advantage over its cousin is the much stronger colour of its flower, better leaf colour, and a very attractive recumbent form. I am rather opposed to the current obsession with 'health and safety' but I suppose I ought to issue a slight health warning. These early buddleyas are slightly more tender than the bog standard B. davidii. My bible for all buddlejas is Le Jardin de Rochevielle's catalogue, where the three budlejas that I have mentioned are put in the minus 10.C. range, which means that for most winters they will be fine. No doubt the fact that we have had a very mild winter explains the fact they are looking particularly good, but even if there is a slight risk it is one that should be taken.

Winter Wonders

My previous blog was entitled 'I am dreaming of a Dry Garden', which should now perhaps be modified to 'I am desperate for a dry garden', as the rain continues to fall. In fact we have not had quite as much rain as the previous January, when in this garden in SE Gers I recorded 184mm of rain, the average being around 60mm. This year it was 129mm, but it comes after what was a very wet year with last November 154mm of rain, well over twice the average amount, with the result that the ground is completely saturated. On the other hand, so far, and the 'so far' needs to be stressed, it has been very mild.. Our first daffodils - N.February Gold, are already in flower, as also the Iris reticulatas, cyclamen coums, and occasional crocus, along with the half a dozen snowdrops, which is all that we seem to be able to manage.  Also in flower is Prunus x subhirtella Autumnalis Rosea, and it is this that has prompted the title of this blog.It has been in full flower now for almost two months, this an extremely long time for any flowering tree or shrub, and it could well continue for at least another month. It is one of Robin Lane Fox's favourite trees, though he would much prefer the white form to the pink. I am perfectly happy with the pink, and can strongly recommend it to you all.  In previous blogs I have raised the question of why there are not many more varieties of flowering cherries in Gascony. The problem may be a certain conservatism of our local nurseries, or may be there is a real problem with our summer heat, and fairly frequent secheresse, but all I can say is that our 'Autumn Flowering cherry' has flourished exceedingly, and in six years is now quite a large tree which has never failed to perform. In a cold winter it will cease flowering if the temperature drops below freezing, but will then burst into life in any milder spell. Lane Fox suggests that it may flower for six months, which is a bit of an exaggeration, but its ability to stop and start certainly prolongs its flowering period. And just coming into flower is another flowering cherry, P. Okame. I do not rate it quite as highly as the afore mentioned - it is a stronger pink, which some people may prefer, but its flowering period as for so many flowering cherries is brief, and after flowering what you have got is a rather shapeless tallish bush. Still I am happy to have it, and it seems to be happy to be here.


What other winter wonders are? Well, my mahonias are still in flower , and this coupled with their shiny evergreen leaves have helped to keep the winter gloom at bay. M. Winter Sun  seems to have out-distanced its competitors in our local garden centres, though one can find the occasional M. Charity. There is nothing much wrong with either of them, except that neither of them has much, if indeed any scent.Moreover the catalogues are slightly cautious on this subject. According to my 2002 Hilliers M.Winter Sun does have fragrant flowers, but M.Charity's are only slightly fragrant. I wish that I could get hold of M.japonica: not so architectural as the aforementioned but genuinely fragrant flowers. The most architectural is M. Lomarifolia, a plant that I have always desired but never succeeded in growing so alas I cannot comment about its fragrance. I know that I am always going on about the mahonias, I suppose because they appear to have fallen out of fashion, and I think that this is a pity.

At this point I should perhaps confess that here our winters are never going to contain as many wonders as,say, an English, or indeed any countries woodland garden.  The obvious stars of such gardens, for instance the early flowering camellias and magnolias are difficult, if not for many of us impossible to grow. I did grow some of these reasonably successfully in a garden much closer into the central Pyrenees, and I guess that the nearer you get to the Atlantic, and especially if you have acidic soil the more chance you will have especially if you can provide some shade. But here in the Gers they are almost impossible, though camellias will grow happily in a pot if you can assure summer watering, and in many ways their very smart appearance suits a pot well.  Less showy but famous for their scent are the Hamamelis, and since they have also autumn colour they are wonderful things to have. I have seen some in local gardens, but they need shade and moisture to flourish, and these two things in most years at least are difficult to provide.

So I will end with three Winter Wonders that present no problems that I know of.  Cyclamen coum is the winter version of the more common autumn cyclamen, C. hederifolium. The leaves are rounder than its autumn cousin but the variation in the leaf patterns is probably as great. The flowers smaller, or at any rate the stems are certainly shorter, but again share the same colour variations, this from white through pink to deep red, and almost purple.  They seem to be indestructible, which is not true of the crocus, and after two or three years you will suddenly find them  popping up in unexpected places which is always a delight. There are of course a good many other varieties - in other gardens I had some success with C.africanum with bigger leaves and flowers than the two already mentioned. C.cilicium should do perfectly well, and my one C.graecum survived without ever looking very happy, but these do not come into the Winter Wonder category.

What does is Iris unguicularis. Ours have been in flower for as long a time as the Autumn flowering Cherry, which is to say at least two months, and I do not think that they are about to stop!. In fact the individual flower shares the characteristic of almost all iris - from bud to death about two or three days max - but once your clump is established it will produce this amazing succession of flowers. We have only got the bog standard, but my now out of date Plant Finder lists over a dozen of which I.ung.Walter Butt with I seem to remember slightly larger and paler blue flowers is one that I would love to find. There is also a white, which I tried here and failed, consoling myself with the reflection that perhaps I prefered my Iris unguicularis blue.  What we have not failed with are the various Iris histriodes/reticulatas. They come in a much greater range of colours, with some exciting markings, and flower happily in February, so they are certainly a winter plant. Why they perhaps just miss out on the 'wonder' category is that their period in flower is so brief: two or three days with no ability to produce a succession.

Finally the humble Chaenomeles. This is a great concession on my part, being a self-confessed plant snob!  But common it may be and thus obviously very easy to grow, and once out of flower with nothing much to recommend it, it is such a cheerful sight so early in the year, that in the end I think it qualifies as a 'Wonder'.  I have a preference for the deep reds, but there is a huge choice to be made, mainly in the red/pink range, but also white and even, which I do not think that I realised, some that are yellow, or at least yellowish. What I think they show is that almost anything that flowers at this time of year is something to be included in all ours gardens, since it brings such cheer, which this year in particular, as the rain still falls we are much in need of.

I 'm dreaming of a Dry Garden

and this not just because we have seem to have had a great deal of rain recently, and our garden is at this moment completely saturated. The real reason is that I have been reading Olivier Filippi's 'The Dry Gardening Handbook' in the Thames and Hudson English edition, though of course it can also be found in French. In the past I have suggested that if you have already got the nursery's catalogue you do not really need the book, since the catalogue is full of information, but there are of course pluses with the book, with amongst other things some very good photographs. It has not been all pleasure for me since it has brought home  with a vengeance the many mistakes that I have made, especially as regards my so-called gravel garden. This occupies a large area, c.20mx5m in front of the South-East facade of the house, and it seemed to me because of its southerly exposition it would be ideal for Mediterranean plants. I knew enough about them, having amongst other things read Beth Chatto's 'Gravel Garden', to realise that the key was drainage, but being lazy, and not having access to the right sort of equipment, I thought that I could get away with putting a layer of gravel and peat over the existing earth. What I did not allow for was that this area was especially composed of clay soil, and that moreover clay soil that had been compacted  by the farming activities of previous owners. The result was instead of creating a Dry Garden I had created a damp one, though one that admittedly might dry out during the summer.  I was also unlucky with my allegedly sterilised peat which came with a very active weed that I never identified, but which in the end I was able to eliminate. I then made the great error of planting the creeping evening primrose, Oenothera speciosa, which in my view should be banned from all garden centres, and which I have not been able to eliminate. Of course in a different situation it might not spread so rapidly, but clearly it finds the peaty/gravel mix much to its liking, while its tough roots can happily resist the winter wet.

Winter wet combined with clay soil and hot, dry summers are a fatal combination, so that my 'Dry Garden' may have to remain a dream, though I have not completely given up. Two reasonably sized urns and a tiled path through the middle have given it a bit more shape. I am also increasingly looking for plants with a bit of shape.  Recently Gamm Vert have been selling various varieties of mound growing Hebe's - H. Green Globe, and H.Pinguifolia to name two - which I hope will help, especially as they will look well during the winter, that is as long as the winter is not too cold! I am increasingly keen on Saturejas. These come in various shapes and sizes, but I especially like S.montana which makes a large mound which in late summer is covered in white flowers, while I have recently acquired  from Aromaticulture S. montana Purple Mountain. I was very hopeful of the various Teucriums, but while T. fruticans flourish like the proverbial bay tree, but are none the worse for that I have had great difficulties with T. ackermanii and T. cossonii, which look so wonderful in the Filippi book and catalogues, but struggle to survive chez nous, I suppose because of the winter wet. Thymes are very variable. One whose name I have forgotten but may be T. x citriodorus is almost as bad a thug as the aforesaid oenothera, while its various variegated cultivars such as T.Archer's Gold or T.Silver King struggle.

 In reading the Filippi book I made quite a long list of plants that I would like to acquire, though not immediately. For one thing Filippi, perhaps surprisingly since we are talking Mediterranean plants which might succumb to a severe winter, strongly recommends autumn planting: the soil is still warm and it is a period when roots put on growth and thus the plant is more quickly established and thus does not need so much watering during its first summer - and perhaps I should add that apart from the first year Filippi, like Beth Chatto is strongly opposed to watering of any kind, though especially  of an automatic variety. But more importantly I have just got to improve the drainage for otherwise most of the plants I desire will not flourish. So my slogan  for the year 2014 is 'Drainage, Drainage, Drainage', and it is one that I would recommend to you all.

More Fun at the Fairs

After the Silly Season comes the Plant Fair season, essentially  October, though increasingly they are to be found in May as well.  When I first came to this region, over twenty years ago now, there was little doubt that the Fair to be seen at was Gaujacq, Gascony's Chelsea you might say. I doubt that that is still the case if only because plant fairs, like every other sort of fair have become much more common, and in fact you will find many of the same exhibitors in which ever fair you go to. Still I suspect that Gaujacq still attracts nurseymen from further a field than most. For instance we have bought many a tree from M. Le Cam of the Pepineres Botaniques Armoricaines from way up in Brittany. It has to be said that Le Cam is not a loquacious man but he has a good selection of mainly trees and shrubs at prices that are extremely reasonable. The only eucalyptus we have bought from him - E.mannifera maculosa with most attractive bark - sadly did not survive its first winter but he has a very fine collection of the genus; similarly Acers, camellias,  and Hollys, some of these perhaps more suited to the North of France than down here in the South West. But he also has a very good selection of oaks. Our much mentioned Q.shumardii, incidentally just beginning to show some autumn colour, came from him, and this year we bought Q.stellata, this because apparently it can put up with drought but also because with luck it too will have good autumn colour. Also bought was a Cedar of Lebanon, probably rather too grand for this garden, which has not anything remotely like a park where they can be seen to most advantage, and of course it will not look anything very much for at least another thirty years, but I suppose that is what planting trees is all about. Anyway my strong recommendation would be to anyone wanting to plant trees is first to get hold of Le Cam's catalogue - he does not do the internet - before buying elsewhere because qualité/prix he is hard to beat.


Sadly the Pep:Filippi, frequently mentioned in these blogs as the great specialists of all plants for dry gardens, no longer appears at Gaujacq, though various nurseries have taken its place including Aromaticulture, as the name suggests excellent for anything  remotely 'herby', and Les Senteurs du Quercy, Iris and Salvia specialists amongst other things. And I have a rather soft spot for Le Petit Jardin, 'petit' because their nursery is 'petit', or they grow plants for a small garden I am not sure - and there is the song of Jacques Dutronc but that I think was a Parisian garden while this nursery is situated in the Pyrenees Orientales. Anyway I find that increasingly I am tempted by what they have on display, since amongst other things their plants always look in very good condition. This time around I fell for a Caryopteris incana with its very deep blue flowers and attractive foliage, Euphorbia Copton Ash, this partly because I used to visit Tim Ingram's nursey near Faversham, where presumably this plant was discovered, and finally Lavendula latifolia x lanata,one of these felty grey leaved lavanders that I love, and which I think they may have bred.

Quite different from almost any other nursery that I know in France is Le Jardin de Rochevielle. I hope that Jean-Francois Giraud and Dominque Permingeat will not mind if I say that there is something slightly amateurish about their approach  which I mean to be a compliment: they are obviously passionate about plants, but also travelling in order to discover new plants, but perhaps not so passionate about presenting their plants to best advantage. I have often mentioned them, especially in connection with buddlejas, of which they have a wonderful collection, some of which have been bred by themselves, but in fact what makes their list more interesting than most is its eclectism with plants from all over the world, many of which I for one have not heard of.  Abelias we all know but Abelia mosanensis from Korea?  And how many Bauhinias do you grow, these from Mexico and South Africa? Hesperaloe funifera, also from Mexico ? Reinwardtia indica, this from SE Asia? And so one could go on, and I have not even mentioned their interest in begonias of all kinds, perhaps because I do not share it.  One of their plants that has done very well for us has been Anisacanthus quadrifidus wrightii, this from Arizona Texas. It is like a more substantial zauschneria with bright orange flowers in late summer. I see that it could grow to over a meter, but ours has so far always been hit back each winter, so makes a fairly compact bush of some 50cms.  Anyway well worth a try if you like bright colours.

Of the other plant fairs this autumn I only managed to get to Ordon-Larroque. This has the great advantage for me of being much nearer than Gaujacq, which is to say that it is in an attractive 'hill-top' village just north-west of Auch. Unlike Gaujacq it is only one day - the Sunday. You park just below the village, but there is transport provided to get you to the top if the climb puts you of, and also to help you to get your 'booty' back to the car. It seems well organized but above all it has very friendly feel to it, perhaps because not too big but with good exhibitors, including my favourite Bernad Lacrouts for the vivaces, the Pépinière Spahl for trees and shrubs, and my two favourite rose nurseries, Yan Surguet's les Roses anciennes du Jardin Talos, and Becky and John Hook's La Roseraie du Desert.  We are beginning to run out of places for new roses, but alas I cannot resist, so inter alia a Marie d'Orleans from Surguet and N 92 Nanjing from the Hooks. The later deserves, and no doubt will get, a more attractive name since it is a very promising rose with a clusters of smallish semi-double flowers of a good strong red which hold themselves well away from the foliage.

 At the end of any plant fair I always ask myself if I have spent wisely, and I think that this autumn I have, though perhaps I always think that. But the mood from both fairs was that times were hard for nurserymen and women, so to a certain extent any spending is good. These small specialised nurseries are the source of enormous pleasure for us passionate gardeners so their survival is vital.

Any Old Iron

No doubt a silly title, but a way of linking it to my last blog and the attempt to draw to your attention plants that cope with our lack of rain. I now want to move on to shrubs, but before doing so I ought to mention the Fraxinus family. What made me think of it was looking recently at a common or garden ash, in someones very dry garden and noting how well it looked. Here I have grown from seed what purport to be Fraxinus ornus,or the so-called Manna Ash with white flowers rather like those of a sweet chestnut. In fact I have my doubts about whether they are what the seed packet said they were, but what is true is that they are putting on growth and generally looking happy with the minimum of attention.  It is a very big family some of which have significant flowers, and some of which, or perhaps even all of which, if you include a goodish yellow, have good autumn colour, and some of which have both.

As for shrubs I will mention only in passing the families of ceanothus, cistus, lavendula, phlomis, and rosmarinus, all of which are happy with the dry, though less happy in winter wet, so better on a slope, if you are on heavy clay. Moreover some of the cistus would prefer more acid soil than many of us can provide, and for this the Filippi catalogue, or indeed their book, 'Pour un jardin sans arrosage', is extremely helpful. On the other hand I find here that many of the salvias are difficult. It is such a huge family, and some will cope with dry much better than others, but the ones I find difficult are the salvia gregii, x jamensis and micophylla, though amongst the last named what I used to call S.grahamii copes a bit better than the newer hybrids.  These you will find in every plant fair in great quantity, and in almost every colour, and they are very enticing, no doubt having been pumped up with every kind of fertiliser. But beware, they really do like a bit of TLC to do well. On the other hand one of my favourite salvias, S.Indigo spires, a very good darkish blue at I would guess just under a meter, copes surprisingly well with the dry, far less well with the winter wet and cold, and is probably best used as an annual.

Looking at the large number of Viburnum lanata, or Wayfaring tree, that grow wild in this garden you would think that as a whole this most attractive family, both as regards flower and foliage, would do well in the dry, but though most will survive not all will be happy.  For instance I find that the lovely V.plicatums with that layered foliage and flower struggle a bit, and never look quite as good as they did in England.  Some shade is probably the key and avoid a south facing slope. What do flourish in heat are the evergreen V.tinus with the white flowers which can appear from almost any time between November and April.

Most buddlejas cope reasonably well with drought, though again some better than others. The bible here is Le Jardin de Rochevielle's catalogue.  Partly because the owners of this nursery are so pleasant we have ended up with perhaps rather too many of them, since many of them have what I consider to be a great drawback, rather persistent and ugly seed heads.  This is particularly true of the most commonly available B davidii. These come in a great variety of colours from white to deepest purple, and in flower they are a fine sight, famously much loved by butterflies. But the flowers do not last very long and their leaves are not nearly as attractive as some of the lesser known species, this especially so in drought conditions.  Of course one can cut off the seed heads, and perhaps one should, as this can encourage a second flowering, but if you have got a big bush, and they can grow to well over 2.meters, this is easier said than done.  The answer to my mind is to look for the varieties whose greatest virtue is their foliage, often, grey, or blue grey, sometimes almost white and slightly felt like in texture.   One of the best for me is B x Loch Hinch , which when its blue flowers are just appearing from out of a blue, grey foliage, is one of the great gardening events.  Some of the early flowering buddlejas, that is to say as early as March, have particularly attractive foliage; for example B. agathosma (?farreri)and B.officinalis Vicomte de Noailles, both of which also have most attractive flowers.  Another well worth having is B.x Pikei Hever. This essentially flowers all summer but also has attractive grey foliage. One of its parents is B.alternifolia with its very racemes of lilac flowers, a good enough shrub in every way, but out done by its sibling, B.alternifolia argentea. I would put the latter in the 'must have' class for Gascony gardens, amongst other things performing the task performed by silver leaved willow such as Salix alba argentea does in English conditions, though not as big.

Thus buddlejas are on the whole good news but discussing them has not left much room for the many other shrubs that perform well in dry conditions. Amongst those that I  meant to mention are the various ceratostigmas - griffithii, plumbaginoides,and willmottianum - all with the blue flowers and wonderful autumn colour, and the vitexes, if that is the right plural for them, these another 'must have plant' for Gascony gardeners, for apart from being very beautiful in flower and foliage they seem to flourish in the dry. But while writing this we have just had over 20mm. of rain so it is probably safe to say that the drought is over, and we can think of other things, including the various plant fairs that are just about to begin, and where some of the plants mentioned above can be found.

Cast in Iron

When I say cast in iron, I should perhaps emphasize that I am thinking of plants that resist drought. This in turn needs to be qualified with the warning that no plant is cast in iron since it is probably true that anything recently planted will be in need of tender loving care, but especially water, for the first year or two. And then one final codicil that some plants that resist drought are not so good at resisting cold and wet; so it is extremely complicated. That said in April 2012 I bought from Mme Spahl's nursery near Jegun three acers - A.discolor, A.Pacific Sunset and A.truncatum - and I have to say that they have done remarkably well with the minimum of attention. This has surprised me for two reasons. One they were rather larger than the trees I normally buy - about 1.5 meters - and usually large means more water in the years after planting. The second is that they are acers, and I have always thought that Acers in Gascony are difficult: too much sun and not enough acid soil.  Clearly I am wrong, but I do not think that one can put all of them in the cast iron category. For instance the japanese acers - A. palmatum - a huge and I have to say very attractive group probably do not do since they do require more shade and more acidic soil than most of us can provide, though of course if you are prepared to water often they can always be put in pots. That still leaves a very huge choice, so huge that my only advice is to consult the books and catalogues, the Adeline catalogue and the 'Arbres et Arbustes' of Les Pepinières Botanique de La Preille being particularly useful. Apart from the ones I have already mentioned I can personally vouch for A. Oliverianum, not I see mentioned by La Preille which is surprising. It is a most attractive small tree, resembling in many ways a Japanese acer and with the same attractive autumn colouring, though that is a feature of almost all acers. Mine flourishes, despite an attack by deer, in an especially dry spot, though under an oak canopy, so there is some shade.

As for oaks they are at least in the Gers our most common tree and the choice is immense, so difficult to do justice to them here. But we are talking cast iron, and not all of them come into that category. For instance one that is commonly sold in Gascony, Quercus palustris, or chene des marais, requires, as its common name suggests, a good deal of water to do well. In fact it comes from America as a lot of the highly autumnal coloured oaks do, and quite a lot of these prefer a fairly humid, and in some case soil on the acid side, for instance one that is quite readily available, Q.velutina.. On the other hand nothing ventured nothing gained.  One that has always grown well for me is Q.schumardii, and while La Preille suggest that it is happy in dry they also suggest that it prefers a slightly acid soil which is not the case in our garden.

So far only two families of trees, and not so many that our cast iron, so I need to push on a bit faster. Trees that I have often praised in these blogs are Pistacia chinensis and Pyrus calleryana Chanticleer and Red Spire, so all that I will say here is that they virtually cast iron. A tree that I do not think that I have mentioned is Melia azedarach. This is a most attractive small tree with almost fernlike foliage, small panicles of lilac flowers which are sweetly scented followed by berries.  What is curious about it is that it looks as if it might require a lot of water but since like the lagerstroemia it hails from China and India the sunnier it is the more it flourishes.

Finally since it is not all that well-known, and is perhaps more of shrub, though a large one, rather than a tree, I will mention Xanthoceras sorbifolium. This has attractive sorbus like leaves which colour quite well in autumn, and flowers early in the year which resemble slightly smaller horse chestnut candelabra.

In a future blog I will try and tackle cast iron shrubs, but before closing this I would like strongly to recommend that you visit Les Jardins de Coursiana, very close to Le Romieu which in turn is to be found roughly speaking between Condom and Lectoure. To my shame I never got to it last year, but following two recent visits I can only say that it is looking a million dollars. How Mme Delannoy does it I do not know as apparently she only employs one gardener though there is a husband and various children lurking. What has particularly struck me is her use of colour using a very large palette of annuals or semi-tender plants, especially dahlias in great profusion, but also impatiens, tithonias, verbenas and much else besides.Also featured is a plant that in Gascony I guess can be called a hardy perennial, for it has certainly survived very happily in this garden for two or three years. She calls hers Ruellia Rio Grande - incidentally there are plants available for sale - but the more important thing in my view is to make sure that you have a tall variety of around a meter in height with normally dark blue flowers, which I think is R.brittonia  rather than the smaller variety with pale blue flowers which I think is R.humilis. I have both, but for impact it is the former that wins, just as for impact Les Jardins de Coursiana are an absolute winner.  Moreover you will find there all the trees mentioned in this blog, and many hundreds more, since not only are there gardens but also an arboretum of some importance.