for lori

How pretty! lol...you aren't afraid of mixing mortar! Me either. Used cement to fix the stones near the gate. Hopeful that it will hold next spring.
What are the lovely lemony coloured bushes...and is that a lilac?

Serynga Microphylla is the lilac, i posted some pics in the spring, it has a fantastic scent. The other plants are feverview, that grows like weed here, i am forever pulling it out, seeds itself everywhere.

mmm... love lilacs. All types. I thought I had left the feverfew behind in Cornwall when we moved!...This summer a clump showed up in the transfer bed, I promise you, I did NOT plant it ...amazing stuff.

Lovely! any photos of your French garden? I work (gardening!) near Cannes in the winter and can see it must be hellish in summer...

Hi hoya, if you look at my blogs they are all about the making of my french garden. I havent started one for my new garden here in yorkshire yet as I am still clearing everything out. I will probl start a new one with a new identity and somehow link them....lori???? help ...

as you can see, Resi, I'm back on my old page. It was just too much trouble going back and forth. perhaps just a note in your profile about the turn of the page between one year and the next. I am looking for info that goes back to 2008, when I first joined and it's accessible without a lot of back and forth. My other site is still up but I haven't been into it for ages. Don't really know if there is a way to link them...it's a puzzlement.

Hi there lori, did I get you out of your wintersleep? lol
Thanks for that , it really confirms what I thought wld be the easiest way to continue with my new garden blogs. How is the snowfall your way? Not much of the white stuff here, some sleeting and very windy. But lots of spring signs , snowdrops, crocusses and hellebores etc , even the odd sunny day. Keep warm.

ohhhhhh... long weary sigh. We have had the coldest February in many years. Most of the month saw temps in the minus 20-30 range with strong winds which increased the feeling of cold by another 10-15 degrees. (Minus 40'ish) VERY, VERY cold. Our deer herd is moving around a lot. I bought hay for them and they have visited and consumed some of it. They prefer to browse the underbrush. Their coats are very dark. we have lost some of our birds to the cold. Had to bury a woodpecker...he was frozen in the snow. poor thing.
How I envy you your snowdrops, crocus and hellebores! I bought some primroses and I'm trying to keep them alive until I can transplant them outdoors. they're telling us that March is going to be cold and it makes me so sad to have to wait for some warmth. I always was amused that many of the "older" folk used to go to Florida for the winter..(snowbirds)...but as I have finally reached legal retirement age (65) I find that age is creeping up on me and this winter has been so trying on the nerves and patience. Terry's family came to Canada from Trinidad (via Britain) after WWII and settled in British Columbia because they couldn't stand the cold of Montreal...lol. Terry keeps threatening to return to Trinidad. Not sure what I think about that. Don't think I'd do well in a hot climate.
I'm still here... getting older and feeling it. Our summer was cool and short last year...hoping for a better growing season in the coming months. will check in on your blogs then I'm off to watch a DVD and try to have an early evening. (I'm feeling like bruin)

It sounds like a real survival of the fittest winter over there, all those poor animals. I have seen blue tits inspecting our nestboxes but I wonder if they use them for roosting at night at the moment. One of the beautiful winter phenomena is the murmurations of starlings, we went to see them this week at dusk, something you never forget. Do you get them in canada? This was not filmed by me but it was the same the evening we were there, good hunting for the sparrowhaks!
https://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=lnCjWnWQiNE
I dont think migrating to a hot climate is the answer lori, not at our age lol, relentless heat and sun are no fun! I prefer hibernating in yorkshire any day. Feeling a bit like bruin myself here !!

Murmurations!? What a delight. We have emigree starlings here but our winters (at least the last two) are much too cold for them. They are weakened by it and as a result the easiest prey for the hawks. Their numbers have decreased quite markedly.
You have reminded me of the sparrow house I had in Cornwall. I should build at least two... we have the room for it. (ANOTHER project)....

No in their weakened winter state they wouldn't be able do do this kind of flying I suppose, it involves at least half an hour of swooping and vigorous flying, before they settle. But what a winter spectacle it is. We might not have the aurora borealis but by gad do we have 'murmurations'!
Good luck with your sparrow houses, something I had never heard of, here they mostly nest under the eaves or in crevices in buildings, they are getting much scarcer now though, but in spite of that we seem to get a healthy number in our garden.