Plants for Garden in the French Pyrenees
May. 19th, 2025 02:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
donut_donut posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
little_detailsHi! I'm writing a novel that takes place in the French Pyrenees (modern day), and I'm trying to figure out what plants to place in this fictional garden.
More info:
The novel takes place at a villa owned by a middle-aged bohemian lady who moved there from Paris maybe a decade ago. Gardening is her hobby. In the back of the house is a potager (vegetable garden), and I've got that covered. But the front of the house has a flower garden, and I don't know so much about that.
It doesn't need to be plants that are native to the region, but it has to be plausible that they would be available and could thrive there. It's summertime (late July-August), and I would like there to be flowers, because we often see her pruning the old blooms. I assume rose bushes would work, but I would love some other options to work with. I've been picturing something like hydrangeas or rhodedendrons, but I don't know how common they are in this environment.
Some kind of ornamental tree would also be nice, for a character cry under. A flowering tree or large bush would be nice but not necessary.
She has somewhat offbeat tastes, so anything off the beaten track would be great, but it has to make sense for the climate.
Thank you!
More info:
The novel takes place at a villa owned by a middle-aged bohemian lady who moved there from Paris maybe a decade ago. Gardening is her hobby. In the back of the house is a potager (vegetable garden), and I've got that covered. But the front of the house has a flower garden, and I don't know so much about that.
It doesn't need to be plants that are native to the region, but it has to be plausible that they would be available and could thrive there. It's summertime (late July-August), and I would like there to be flowers, because we often see her pruning the old blooms. I assume rose bushes would work, but I would love some other options to work with. I've been picturing something like hydrangeas or rhodedendrons, but I don't know how common they are in this environment.
Some kind of ornamental tree would also be nice, for a character cry under. A flowering tree or large bush would be nice but not necessary.
She has somewhat offbeat tastes, so anything off the beaten track would be great, but it has to make sense for the climate.
Thank you!
Re: Starting a new thread because the windows are shrinking.
Date: 2025-05-21 02:18 am (UTC)Source: A. ramosus, 30 April 2005 by Jean Tosti: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphodelus#/media/File:Asphodelus_ramosus7.jpg
(1)Patti Smith—-a Yank, but a Francophile and held in high regard there—-comes to mind.
ETA: you did say “middle-aged”, making her younger than I was imagining; for some reason I’d had a Boomer in mind.
Re: Starting a new thread because the windows are shrinking.
Date: 2025-05-21 02:58 am (UTC)Time is weird.
Re: Starting a new thread because the windows are shrinking.
Date: 2025-05-21 03:45 am (UTC)Still endorsing the asphodel, though.
Re: Starting a new thread because the windows are shrinking.
Date: 2025-05-21 09:33 pm (UTC)This image of the blossoms is all over the web, but I’m going to credit Ana Retamaro by linking directly: https://www.anaretamero.com/Nature/Plants-ang-fungi/OrchidsOrqu%C3%ADdeas/i-fLDq79g
And here are the edible tubers: