A beautiful little potager, on a hillside near the village of Elizaberri, in the French Basque country. Apart from the profusion of outdoor tomatoes, what caught my eye were the upturned, bottomless mineral water bottles beside each plant, to ensure that the water goes directly to the plant's roots, and the companion planting of marigolds. We passed this plot several times, but didn't see anyone working there. If we had, I would have stopped for a gardening chat.Below, the vegetable garden at a bed and breakfast we stayed in near the Basque village of Sare. I loved the little willow fencing dividing the different sections of the plot.
More enviable tomatoes:
Below, roses and peppers. The 'rose and vegetable/fruit' theme was a common one. In the photos of vineyards I didn't take you would have seen rose bushes at the end of the rows of vines.
It doesn't show up too clearly in this shot, but the ground surface of the whole plot was heavily mulched with grass clippings. Mulching to conserve moisture! Novel concept here this summer.
Apart from the vegetable plot, this B&B had a lovely garden. In the next two shots, the patio area where we had breakfast.
And to round off this bit of agri-tourism, a blurry shot of the traditional stone fencing in this area of France.
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9 comments:
Hi Linda,
A lovely post and beautiful photos.
The b&b looked really good.
Love,
Herrad
Leaving messages for you on Blotanical - probably not a good idea!
Enjoyed this tour immensely.
We're harvesting blooms and veggies from our community allotment. Despite a very cool summer.
xo
Alice
I did a double take when I looked at the first photo, outdoor tomatoes in Scotland?! You had a great hoiday from the photos you did remember to take.
I find I am much more interested in domestic gardens when on holiday now, to see what other people are growing and how.
Did you find out the reasoning if any other than looking good for the roses being positioned with veg and vines/
Hi Peggy, the roses were traditionally planted at the end of rows of vines to act as early warning of attack by bugs and diseases - they're susceptible to the same sorts as the vines. Now it's more to maintain the tradition and for the look of the thing.
Hi Linda.
Jag skriver på svenska hoppas att det går bra?
Jätteroligt att du hälsade på hos mig. Här har vi ett jättefint väder men hösten närmar sig för det har börjat bli kyliga nätter.
Du verkar ha haft en fin resa och att bo på B&B verkar vara riktigt bra.
Kramen/Gunilla
Ah! Now I realise the true meaning of the callanish stones - windbreak fencing!!
I love vegetable tourism, but haven't seen many outdoor toms here yet.
Re car rally - they are all native cars, and one or two of them can be seen driving around Stornoway. One chap even drives his Ford prefect to work at the council.
So much space....
Hello Linda I enjoyed this - any idea whether those tomatoes could be Black Krim?
That's so beautiful it made me homesick for Toulouse, where I used to live and where sights like those were commonplace. Outdoor tomatoes ... envy has struck!
Looks like you enjoyed a wonderful holiday.
The bottomless mineral water bottles remind me of what my dad does in the garden. He cuts the bottom off of plastic buckets and then puts the buckets over the small tomatoe plants, pushing then into the soil as far as possible.
I've missed you and your blog.
donna
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