So Very Green

Before I go any further, let me show you what this totally green gardener is up against. Here are a few pictures of my "garden" as of yesterday:

















It's got potential to be something special, right? Too bad it's in the hands of a complete novice.

This yard is a part of our beautiful country house in northern Burgundy (France), which we've been restoring for the past 4 years (see my blog Really Old House). Because the house was such a disaster when we bought it, we haven't focused at all on developing the garden.

But now... it's time.

When we first bought the house, I imagined so many things for our future garden. The yard is about 1500 square meters (16,154 square feet) of space, so we have lots of room to work with. Right away, I decided that I wanted a trellis entwined with fragrant wisteria arching over the columns that led to the entrance of the backyard. I also envisioned yellow and crimson roses snaking their way up the iron railings of the staircase at the back door. I saw myself picking blueberries and raspberries from my own bushes, a wicker basket dangling from my arm, and I saw a luscious cherry blossom tree making a dainty pink blanket of flowers by the stone wall surrounding the property. And, naturally, there'd be a vegetable garden.

Now that it comes down it, though, I don't know if any of this is practicable. Can a blueberry bush survive the moody weather of central France? Will the pH balance of our soil support a vegetable garden? How close can a cherry blossom tree - or any tree - be to our wall without its roots eventually dislodging the stones? What kind of beautiful flowers, plants and trees exist that would be perfect for our area that I haven't even thought of?

At any rate, we're a long way from dealing with those issues. Our immediate goal is to find someone to level the yard and get rid of all those awful tractor tracks. But in the meantime, I want to learn all that I can so when the time comes, I can get my garden off to the right start.