Limousin Living
Life in the heart of France
1st April 2015
Page 994
Orchard!
We have bought an orchard, as you do.
Our Parisian neighbours offered to sell us their little orchard. It's about 18 metres square, located ten paces along the road from our place and contains a dozen fruit trees - apple, pear, quince, cherry and peach. It's fenced and surrounded by trees and filled with the most amazing variety of wild flowers.
The asking price? Just 100 euros. Plus the taxes and notaire's fees, which took it up to 750€, but still that's a bargain we think. After signing the contract at the Notaire's office in Le Dorat, we held a little opening ceremony and wandered among the trees in beautiful blossom and the wild flowers in colourful bloom.
It doesn't look much from the road, but we realised that at about 340 square metres it's bigger than the last garden we had in England.
Low maintenance too - just the occasional mow and fruit picking in autumn. More jam!
A shagpile carpet of buttercup, blue bugle, dandelions, clover, stitchwort and more.