Photo: Clematis climbs over my neighbor's freshly painted blue gate.
June is when flowers are at their best in Burgundy, especially the roses. The irises are strutting their stuff, la clématite is sashying up walls, and life is beautiful. I took une petite promenade in the village this week, accompanied by my camera and my cat, the little bell on his collar jingling beside me all the way. This is what I saw.
"Snow in the Summer" spills over a wall, with lavendar irises
The favorite rose in my garden, Fellowship, a.k.a .'Livin' Easy. (I love orange flowers, I think they play well with other colors, especially blue and bright pink.) I think the form and foliage of a rose bush is as important as the bloom. This one forms a beautifully shaped rounded bush about 5 feet tall (1.5 meters), with shiny, healthy leaves in a deep green.
Queen Anne's Lace grows wild next to a neglected barn and spills over one of the dry-stack stone walls that are typical of the area.
Trailing , or ivy, geraniums (les geraniums lierre in French) are hugely popular in the French countryside. My neighbor (appropriately named Iris!) has planted some on her second floor balcony.
I don't believe I've evey seen a Lupine in Charleston, so they were new to me. What an interesting flower! My neighbor Beatrice grows hers on the street by her wall. It seems they do grow in hot climates too, though.
Behind the potted grapevine, my neighbor Jean-Marie has an a clematis that is époustouflant (amazing!), with blooms as big as saucers.
Now, an easy dinner after a long summer stroll.
RECIPE: A Niçoise Salad by way of Burgundy
A Niçose is a great salad for summer, which I fluffed up a bit with avocados and a few other tweaks. I added my favorite new dressing: French dressing with fresh tarragon and chives.
I've found that in France there are as many versions of Salad Niçoise as there are restaurants in Nice. So I guess I can get away with a Burgundy version!
To make it, put the following on a bed of fresh lettuce: haricots verts, lightly steamed and cooled in ice water; roasted fingerling potatoes; avocado slices; cherry tomatoes.
In the center, put some drained, flaked white tuna which you have mixed with a touch of Dijonnaise (Dijon mustard and mayo). Top with boiled eggs, coarsely chopped. Stir a good portion of chopped, fresh tarragon and snipped fresh chives into French dressing #1. Drizzle it over the vegetables and serve.
Felicitations to my book cover designer, Damon Za: my ebook cover, How to Learn a New Language with a Used Brain
In the COMMENTS: If you liked last week's post on villages in the Lot, then check out the comments for more great travel tips, from Cynthia, Jetagain, Susan, and Rebecca. Now I'm longing to go back! Hampton and Mary James are discussing the best French learning programs. Hampton, the blog Unexcused Absenses, about Heather and Kent's adventures on a French canal boat, is one of my favorites too. And one more vote from Kathy for Paris: The Novel
. Getting back to the pigeon post, don't miss Suzanne's charming poem this week about a pigeon, called "La Tour Eiffel".
16 thoughts on “A Burgundy Flower Show”
LOVE the flowers!!! We just got back from a 2 week trip to the Loire region and the wild flowers that grew literally everywhere were spectacular!
Beautiful photos of beautiful flowers – they always give me an uplifting feeling – thanks!
Wow, how exciting that your artist won that prize!! What a clever girl she is! I do love the cover too. And, yes, the flowers everywhere are stunning now.
I’m going to be making that Nicoise soon. Sounds delicious. Merci! I want to get some of those geraniums for my rooftop planters.
Lupines are EVERYWHERE wild in Nova Scotia. All along the roadsides in shades of pinks to purple. We were told that they are kin to the Texas bluebonnets. NS is a wonderful place to travel. We were hard pressed to see one scrap of litter on the roads, and every place that sell food has recycle bins!
Une belle promenade. Avec le p’tit p’tit, alors. In California, Lupine grow wild where you can see purple blankets on those enormous hills around the corner from golden blankets of California poppies on the adjacent hill. But the intimacy of the flowers in Burgundy (and all over France) is special. There’s something about the “little spaces” in France that are appreciated for their opportunity. Always making it look lovely all around. Thanks for sharing.
Chris
Also, congratulations to your graphic artist. Perhaps that will motivate my artist son to be more creative for our next book cover.
Beautiful pictures from your little promenade around your village. Did your cat just follow you or do you take it on a leash as we some do in some of the villages in Provence. You are right about the variety of Nicoise salads. I am glad you used canned tuna instead of seared fresh tuna as they do in most “French” restaurants in the US.
I love Queen Anne’s Lace: not much of it down here, but it certainly is all over New England. It mixes so well with absolutely any other flower!
No, I’ve never had Lupines…again, I think they need the cooler climates of New England and Canada.
Thanks for visiting and commenting today! Bon weekend.
Thanks for a Niçoise salad recipe that does not have olives. I assumed they were what made it “Nicoise” but I don’t care for them. I will definitely try this!
Félicitations on your artist’s book cover! Merci for the Burgundy Flower Show. So colorful and beautiful. There are brilliant blue Lupines covering the hills, along with California poppies, here between San Francisco and Palo Alto in springtime. Having grown up down South, I thought the Lupines were Texas bluebonnets! In Louisiana, the Wild Iris are spectacular along the bayous, especially in Cajun country. I plan to do some watercolors from some of my photos.
à bientot, Jonelle
The photos are a real treat. We are well into summer in central Texas and headed deeper into drought so les fleurs are truly a sight for sore eyes. Merci!
Lynn, these pictures of such gorgeous flowers absolutely steal my imagination!
Roses are my favorite;like you(and your beautiful Fellowship!), I love orange. We have one named Sedona(after the town in Arizona, I presume) growing in our garden.
An upright tall grower with a color that is captivating– only downside is awful thorns!
Your Nicoise Salad sounds like heaven!
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!
A most pleasant floral journey. Could you include a picture of your cat? What is his/her name?
Congrats Lynn on your book cover design which you were so smart to choose in the first place! The flowers are as beautiful as I remember them the first time we were there. For some reason your geraniums are much heartier than ours. Ours look most spectacular in the late spring but don’t last as long as yours. Hmmmm…..?????
Hi, i’ve just discovered your marvellous blog via The Antiques Diva and though it seems a little less than gracious to start with this, i think your Queen Anne’s Lace are actually elderflowers. cheers, Heather
Congratulations on the book cover, Bravo! Gorgeous photos of flowers Lynn. How I love flowers, more ways than I can count. Love this post as always.