The liberation of the garden gnomes and similar
Tastes, colours... Individual choices, really. In the colours category, at our place, there is the flashy blue, and as far as tastes are concerned, there are the garden gnomes... There weren't just a few individuals which were haunting the garden but a whole army...
A typical setting, in all "flower beds", looked like that:
Out of curiosity, let's count: there were 5 scattered on 2m²...
Here is a more hidden one... Did you find it?
And yes, yet another garden gnome on the edge of the Stonehenge flower bed... And the barbecue is quite sexy, isn't it ? (yes, yes, these are in fact flying garden gnomes 
)
Please, just admit you want more...
Let's also consider the famous "twit with a jug" and its lighting posts which don't function properly and on which... terra cotta frogs are glued. The frogs can very well be regarded as honorary garden gnomes...
We will add the cherubs...
...and the lions...
... to the list of honorary garden gnomes.
I'm not a FLNJ (Garden Gnome Liberation Front) activist, but the extent of situation almost makes me feel like joining them !
In any case, our personal liberation took place last August for the most part. Some people chase after eggs at Easter, we chased after garden gnomes in August... A whole 100L bag: wow ! However our approach was different from the FLNJ's: the garden gnomes were freed at the waste collection centre... They even ended up in the rubble skip. Let's try and remember this fact: when you'll be driving on Maine-et-Loire roads, at some point, below your wheels, as part of the embankment, there will be a garden gnome. How moving !
Anyway in August 2010, the next large work after the hidden garden gnomes hunt was the fall of Stonehenge:
By the way, the twit with the jug was way heavier than expected ! And we were quite nice with it: it didn't join the rubble but went on holidays in the South of France in the garden of one of Manu's parents' friends.
The second phase took place in December: cherubs and lions left Angers to join the twit in the South...
- No more lions:
- And no more cherubs:
It's incredible how relieving that feels ! And while it may sound funny but, that kind of activity represents hours of hard work!
Recent work
A few pictures of the outcome of some recent "work":
- Some pots added near the canopy's pillars:
- Another pot hanging from the garden shed's roof (OK, I've been lazy, I bought this one already prepared):
- Window boxes on the front balcony:
And a lot of work in the vegetable garden: tomatoes and courgettes are in place!
I know, I'll have to install sticks to support the peas and for the tomatoes, and I also need to earth up the potatoes 
Garden update
A few pictures taken yesterday that show how some areas of the garden that have already been featured here are evolving (heh, I'm not going to reveal "secret" areas about which I haven't had the time to post yet, am I? 
)
Contrary to my rather pessimistic expectations, there's some stuff that looks like it's growing. Some salads are visible along the shed, but they're being eaten by sparrows Then there's an unused area onto which I'm going to plant both tomatoes and courgettes; after that, I have some potatoes which are starting to sprout but that I need to earth up some more, and two lines of various peas, then finally a line of beans I sowed last week-end but that haven't sprouted yet.
The ceanothus is full of various insects and their buzzing can be heard from rather far. As for the sea thrift, it's quite lovely as well.
Irises have flowered, and ornamental garlics are starting to bloom.
A few flowers are starting to appear there as well.
If sparrows devour all salads in the vegetable garden, we'll still have some here!
It's improving!
First insane step : the vegetable garden
Given the garden's layout, we felt like the best place to start a small vegetable garden (just, you know, to "have fun") was left of the canopy, between the house and the shed. The only problem with that idea was that, well... it was a rather crowded place.
The future vegetable garden is both under and behind the thuja (or cypress, or... well, ugly conifers, whatever they are) hedge...
Behind the hedge, it's definitely not any better : a huge gas tank (which will be "disappeared" as we get the house connected to the town's gas service) and, under it, a similarly huge concrete slap... covered with ivy...
To be a masochist or not, that is the question, I suppose... And on that point we're definitely in the "Spank me I love it" club.
So, July 2010: the tank must go. And that implies removing at least some part of the hedge. So lil' Julie gets her saw and her little arms and removes 3 of the thuja (yes, yes, with a saw).
Here's the result:
And without the tank :
Fortunately for my little arms, onto which the ugly conifers caused a bit of an allergic reaction (not to mention cuts and bruises), the in-laws came to the rescue with highly technological artefacts (well, a chainsaw and a trailer truck) in August.
And after quite a few sledgehammer- and pickaxe-related events...
... and many trips to the waste collection centre ...
...and "Chainsaw massacre" operations...
... we finally managed to clear the area near the end of the summer:
This Spring we're preparing the land in order to plant a few vegetables.
We should plant some potatoes this week-end. I'm also considering sowing carrots and beans. Courgettes and tomatoes that were sown earlier are looking mostly decent and will join the rest in May...
Because the ground is really clayey, we're not expecting much from the vegetables this year: it's bloody hard to break the clods! But... we'll see: if I end up eating a single courgette, a lone tomato and 3 potatoes, I'll be happy anyway Besides it can only improve with time, given the amount of organic waste and compost we're throwing around everywhere
Some will notice the presence of 3 hydrangeas and 2 forsythias in the area we were working on; some of them aren't dead! After quite a while in a pot, the hydrangeas found a new home in a clump above the water tank. As for the forsythias, well... I hope they rest in peace: given their size it was quite impossible to move them. In addition, there were others at the front of the house and I don't have a forsythia-related obsession. However, one of their "babies" is currently in a jardinière, waiting to be moved to a more permanent location...
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