France in late summer

'Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.'
Russell Baker

I had hoped to make a comparison between the French garden in late summer and in early autumn. However, I became a bit despondent and stopped writing. This is what I remember.

 

The end of the summer brought a heatwave in France and we are were keen to see what the garden looked like in the sunshine. Steve had pruned the climbing roses – a single crimson over a stone arch, a single burgundy and a double pink on the walls that surround the courtyard - and they had put out healthy stems and flowers. Self-sown buddleia was flowering freely against a new-rendered wall, doing a good job of softening its edges and attracting clouds of butterflies. Ever-reliable Japanese anemone and golden rod stand stately, defying their surroundings. The whole area is shaded by Norwegian maple and filberts, giving height and shade.

But the flower beds are largely empty now, with just a few hollyhocks and Echinops still clinging on. Bindweed had taken hold and the stone paths were obscured by dandelions and other weeds, so a radical clearing is the only possible choice of gardening style.