Sunday morning, I wanted to enjoy the beautiful local scenery, so I took my book down to the beach to read in the sun. Thankfully, I had not only worn a long-sleeved shirt, but brought a blanket with me. I didn’t realize how cold it was when I left the house! I needed both, because although it was a beautiful day, the wind coming off the ocean in the mornings here certainly isn’t warm.

 There was a huge snow in March this year, and a lot of the plants in the garden were heavily damaged. A lot of the time working in the garden in the mornings seems to be spent raking up leaves, especially from the Cordylines.

Cordyline australis. Pain in the butt.

This stuff just isn't very aesthetically pleasing.

 The last two mornings, however, we were repotting plants for the courtyard and the nursery. It’s been a long time since someone has looked that closely over my shoulder to do something like repotting, but I chose to look at it as observing a teaching style. I’ll have interns of my own to be teaching soon at my fancy new job that I have to assume are starting from scratch, so it will certainly be an adventure.

Little is what we started with, big is where we ended.

At the very least I learned some new French words. “Rempoter” is the verb for repotting, and loosening the pot-bound roots is the verb “Dechignoner.” Like undo-ing the hairstyle. Some other important words for working in the garden at Vauville:

Vent: wind

Ratou: rake

Ratissage: raking

Plage: beach

Secateurs: hand pruners.

Café: coffee. You can’t get away with NOT drinking it. I might even be starting to like it.

Désherbage: weeding

Feuille: leaf

Tuyau: hose

Arroser: to water

Couper: to cut

Tailler: to trim (whether it be one branch because of damage or for topiary)