April Flowers in Bordeaux

Apologies to those of you who have already seen photos of my pyjama pants making their Bordeaux appearance alongside this stunning pink jasmine( 15 metres! 50 feet! high — imagine the fragrance!). . .

but I want to assure you that as much as I think aboutthe garden I left at home(hope the apple blossoms are calling the bees and that they stay open for my friend S.). . .

I am finding blooms and greenery aplenty here in Bordeaux. Chestnut trees bloom white and pink all over the city

and in the park nearby, trees dip their leaves toward the water while a carpet blooms under their canopy. . .

We’ve a few days of cloud and rain ahead, but so far the weather’s been delightful.

Viburnum (opulus?)

The houses generally front right up to the sidewalk here, but the residents still manage ways to bring greenery to the street. . . climbing up walls like the Parthenocissus above or drooping from a sturdy frame built above a wall like the wisteria below. . .

More wisteria (Glycine, it’s called here) drips ever so romantically from a green wrought-iron bridge in the park where I ran this morning. . . .

So don’t worry about me — apparently, I can find flowers and greenery enough to reconcile me to being away from my own garden through what might be its best months. I am curious to know, though, whether our wisteria will bloom this year or not. . . .

Now tell me, how are your gardens growing? And if you haven’t a garden of your own, have you found one or many to admire or to help tend? Or, perhaps, you’ve found a way to wear a garden, as I seem to be doing with my pyjama pants 😉

xo,

f

16 Comments

  1. LPC
    22 April 2019 / 10:59 pm

    I love these photos. The white flowers and the yellow stone, sigh. And your hair is so fun these days.

    • materfamilias
      23 April 2019 / 5:54 am

      It's so interesting, isn't it, how the same flowers can take on such a different mood or tone or something, depending on the context of the light and building materials and dominant (and supporting, smaller) plants of their environment.
      As for my hair, I'm pretty happy with it at the moment — the grey curls a bit wild 😉

    • materfamilias
      23 April 2019 / 5:54 am

      Damn! I so wish we could edit coments — should first have said "Thank you!!" re my hair xo

    • Sue Burpee
      24 April 2019 / 5:04 pm

      I love your curls:)

  2. Annie Green
    23 April 2019 / 8:52 am

    All that blissful wandering. Just the wisteria is enough but everything else…you must be delighted every time you go outside. We have had blisteringly hot weather here – dangerously so – but it is cooler today. My wisteria has been kick-started this weekend, and both my lilacs are beginning to bloom and to smell heady. Almost time for May, my absolute favourite time of year. Keep posting the pics.

    • materfamilias
      23 April 2019 / 8:04 pm

      It's true — every time, the delight! It was 26 here Friday, but has cooled down to 20-ish now. . . Wisteria and lilac. . . ah! Enjoy!

  3. Taste of France
    23 April 2019 / 10:31 am

    Beautiful photos. Bordeaux is beautiful with or without flowers, though. Your pants are perfect…
    The first blooms are on our faux-acacia trees (officially robinier). And I just read that the yellow dust covering everything that I thought was pollen is in fact sand from the Sahara. Have you seen it in Bordeaux? I read that it has flown all the way to Finistère, which is awfully far!

    • materfamilias
      23 April 2019 / 8:07 pm

      I love robinia for the fragrant flowers and those elegant leaves. . .
      Haven't noticed that yet in Bordeaux, but I do remember being in Paris once and a red sand/dust from Africa had made its way there. . . . I'll keep an eye for that yellow dust — something's making me sneeze!

  4. Mary
    23 April 2019 / 12:22 pm

    You are looking bloomin' (in a good way)! Think those pants were a good choice for the trip. As for blooms here, well the trees are blowing pollen at a clip–all vehicles, decks, etc. are now yellow, regardless of their paint job. At least the trees are leafing out now–looking forward to my deck not being visible to neighbors. And the azaleas are starting to bloom. Enjoy all Bordeaux has to offer.

    • materfamilias
      23 April 2019 / 8:09 pm

      So allergies will be at their peak now! Ah-choo! But I love that first leafing-out of the trees, so expansive, such a luxurious verdancy. . .

  5. Eleonore
    23 April 2019 / 2:03 pm

    Jasmin flowers always remind me of Lima. Here the lilac is beginning to bloom, as is the chestnut tree in the garden adjoining my little backyard. Not to mention all the different sorts of apples, pears, and plums all over the place. May is approaching fast, and I agree with Annie G., it's definitely the best month of the year.

    • materfamilias
      23 April 2019 / 8:10 pm

      What a lovely association, a way to bring your travels back to you through jasmine. Your garden will be beautiful right now, recovered nicely from all the depredations it had to suffer a few years ago, I hope.

  6. Anonymous
    23 April 2019 / 7:41 pm

    Oh, my God! Those flowers, the architecture, your pajamas — I love them all. And they all go so nicely together.

    Seriously, you look fabulous, girl! I'm glad to see you so well turned out in such beautiful locations. Keep truckin'. 🙂

    Ann in Missouri

    • materfamilias
      23 April 2019 / 8:11 pm

      You are so sweet — thank you!! Bisous!

  7. Maggie
    23 April 2019 / 9:13 pm

    What glorious spring flowers! We're enjoying them in North Carolina too1

  8. Mardel
    23 April 2019 / 11:52 pm

    Oh the beautiful flowers! That first photo especially caught my breath. My tiny garden is blooming beautifully amidst the chaos, and I am struggling to keep my impulses in check. I think I need to hold back until all the work is finished.

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