Getting the Greater Daglan Area to look right has been a bit of a struggle. Despite having summer officially declared (by Radio Free Daglan), the countryside has been looking awfully brown, and the plants and flowers and shrubs and flowering trees have been stubbornly slow. Now that’s begun to change.
We’ve just come through a rainy stretch that lasted several days, and the water has presumably helped along the greening process. Now it seems that the first thing to really come alive and provide some colour are the flowering trees. In today’s posting, I’ll provide a sample — starting with this photo taken yesterday next to our bank branch in Daglan, against a still-cloudy sky:
A fresh burst of pink, up into a grey sky.
Then today, the sun really broke through and we had a glorious day — perfect for a drive to the lovely bastide town of Monpazier (a great tourist attraction in the GDA). Next to one of our favourite restaurants in Monpazier was this tree, throwing out a shower of white blossoms:
A white-flowering tree, emerging from a restaurant courtyard.
Lots of shrubs and trees are still looking awfully brown and bare, but green buds and small leaves are finally starting to emerge on a few trees. Here’s a row of trees in Monpazier’s main parking lot, starting to show off some green:
A row of trees in Monpazier.
The early spring flowers are showing their colours too. Late this afternoon, I was up in Castelnaud at the plaza that sports a café, a butcher shop, a hairdressing salon, a convenience store, and a bakery, and I found that every flower bed was filled with bright yellow daffodils. Earlier today in Monpazier, my wife and I visited a house that featured this display:
A sprinkling of daffodils along some stone steps.
The biggest mystery for me is the state of the wisterias on either side of our front steps. They seem curiously dormant, with barely any hint of buds, considering that the vine is reputed to be one of the world’s most aggressive takeover artists, and the model for all growth stocks. I’m keeping a close eye on these boys. Operation: Wisteria Watch.
