I am sitting out in La Tresse in the most lovely of gardens enjoying my first cup of coffee of the day.
This is our home away from home for the next three weeks. My family and I are spending our days in Brittany France, which is a new area of this amazing country we are eager to explore.
Brittany is very different from the rest of France, all wild and windswept coastline, rolling hills and rich agricultural farming areas give it a quiet charm.
It was once an independent kingdom that feels one step removed from the rest of Franceas it is governed by its own distinctively Celtic culture and language.
At a local market the other day people wandered around drinking homemade cider from distinctive stripped teacups, and an impromptu circle dance erupted that had a distinct seaside vibe to it.
Our home is a 100-year-old, lovingly restored farmhouse on a tiny country road that is bordered by corn and wheat. It is a pastoral place to head out on bikes and explore the neighbouring towns in search of the best boulangerie.
The garden behind the farmhouse is very long and large, and is a beautiful place to enjoy some fresh air and the remarkable assortment of birds that come to visit.
The owners may not have put pen to paper to design this oasis, but it is loose and flowy and organic. It looks as though it has always been here and is a perfect compliment to the tall, rusticstone farmhouse.
There is a wonderful mix of mature fruit trees and long curving flower borders. The flowerbeds contain large swaths of one type of plant or large groups of two or three.
The plants are not rare and complicated mostly Phlox, geranium and Lady's Mantle and roses but they work well together and provide a cottagey feel.
Fruit trees and berries break up the long garden at mid point and create a green entry way into the second or back part of the garden. It has a lovely feel of two distinct garden rooms that beckons you to enter.
This is an artful garden. From the small statue and rough hewn birdbaths, to a large carved totem pole, art is not only for gracing walls inside the house, but living in this garden.
The totem pole is a perfect verticle element, which is a classic formof landscape design with a personal and charming twist. This garden is well loved and lived in. The water feature is functional and fashionable.
A hand-carved, multi leveled aquaduct is fashioned out of old wood and uses gravity to feed a lower pond. Next to it a solar panel uses the suns rays to power the ponds small pump and help move water to the back garden.
It is lovely to see and hear the water trickle down through its watery route.
Hollyhocks are everywhere here and add splashes of colour to these cottagey, country gardens. They perfectly match that seaside feel.
In the next few days we will be off to visit some of the WW1 sites and find the grave of a relative. Along the way I finally hope to visit one of Brittany/Normandy's most celebrated artist and gardeners home, Giverny. And see the famous gardens of Claude Monet.
