Do you like 'Before and After' shots? (many photos)

15 years ago

Hello again,

Rummaging through old photos the other day, I thought I would give everyone a good laugh by showing what my "garden" looked like 3 years ago, as compared with today. As I also received some encouragement to do so, I dedicate my little effort to "Simply J" (you know who you are!).

I am always awed and amazed when I see what some of you are doing in terms of landscape design, structures, pergolas, archways, paths, raised beds, etc. I hope one day we can do something of the sort, but for the moment, not really having a budget for such "hard-scaping", we have simply planted fragrant roses and are experimenting with companions, mostly blue and perennial.

Anyway, for those of you who like the old "Before and After" game, here is the front garden in August 2005 and recently:

As is common in rural France, behind the house we had a huge, ugly fuel tank. The whole area was a wasteland but after we replaced the "submarine" with a new underground tank, it was possible to start reclaiming that little space:

Another view from the side Â the green disk is the top of the buried tank. Sadly, after the excavations we found that the mound of "soil" was nothing more than rubble, stones and sticky blue clay so my poor hubby gradually removed it all and replaced it with our own manure-based compost:

On one side a dark hedge loomed and this wasted corner was a parking spot. We are gradually softening that outline with climbing OGRs and some Austins:

Another view, from the back:

and from the lane that borders our place:

And finally, looking the opposite way towards the back:

My limited experience suggests that, although three years can feel like an eternity (especially in winter when the roses are asleep), it is possible to begin to see the bones of a rose garden fleshing out. Coincidentally, as we started to dig and plant, we also began visiting this forum. So I wish to thank you all for the invaluable advice which has underpinned our efforts. And, please, continue to post photos from your gardens ... I need the motivation!

MayBee

Comments (23)

alisande
15 years ago
What a difference!! Beautiful job, all of it. You're an inspiration!
bluesibe
15 years ago
Maybee, I really enjoy seeing transformations. You and your husband have put in a great deal of work and it is really beginning to show.

A few years ago, I did some biking in France and really enjoyed looking into peoples gardens. Now, I can look into your garden and see it transform.

Carol
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The paint color on the lower half of the wall is just a very light lavender. The upper half is more purple. I actually mixed the lavender myself, by adding a little of the purple paint to some white paint. The fake tile (sheet vinyl) floor came from Linoleum City in Los Angeles. I looked and looked and looked for that vinyl and Linoleum City is the only place that sells it. I called a salesman there and asked about it. He said they had a unique contract with Tarkett (I think) to produce this product and he didn't think it was sold anywhere else in the country. Their number one client is Hollywood. Set-building people buy it by the roll to use on the sets. The sheet vinyl creates the look of early 20 Century hex tile floor in a jiffy. :) The light fixtures and medicine chest are reproductions. The light fixtures came from Rejunvenation Hardware and the medicine chest came from Van Dykes Restoration hardware. All these years of writing about old houses and I finally got to use some of the resources I've been writing about. Thanks for all the nice comments. Rose Here is a link that might be useful: linoleum city link
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michelle_co
15 years ago
Beautiful work! I love the B & A photos!

Cheers,
Michelle
bbinpa
15 years ago
That is remarkable. Good job. So much better now.

Barbara
bamabutterfly
15 years ago
That is an amazing transformation! Thanks for the photos...Your roses are beautiful!!

Michelle
reneek
15 years ago
How beautiful, Maybee.....I miss France and your roses only reminded me of how much........
cincy_city_garden
15 years ago
Yep, pretty much what I think of when I envision "French country house"....sigh :) I love the stone of your house, the stone walls, and the tile roofs. It provides a elegant, yet casual backdrop to your roses.

Eric
maybee_france
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you all for your encouraging words! For us, the roses are really the backbone and the whole reason for the garden but we put an awful lot of time and planning into the companions and other stuff. Two years ago the area above the tank produced a bumper crop of tomatoes and zucchini; this year it's roses and strawberries. We are constantly moving things, adding, replacing and dealing with mistakes! But what surprises me most is that the problems always involve plants other than roses, and yet people are convinced that roses are "fussy". Just now I'm waiting for 6 different perennials and 4 annuals to "do something" while we have 6-inch-high rose cuttings producing full-size blooms ... go figure!

MayBee
sherryocala
15 years ago
Wow, what an amazing difference you have made, maybee. Three years IS a long time, but your roses are beautiful and maturing nicely. Sometimes it's hard to be satisfied and patient with just the things that we CAN do, but it all comes together eventually before our eyes. You two have done a great job!

Sherry
mkrkmr
15 years ago
It looks great. I always feel at a loss in planning companions. Maybe with experience...
zeffyrose
15 years ago
Oh my---what a wonderful post---You will be an inspiration to many "newbies"-----

When I scroll down it looks the the roses actually pop up out of plain dirt------very good three years
thanks for these pictures they are inspiring----

I too love your stone home and the tile roof.

Please keep the pictures coming---

Florence
aegis1000
15 years ago
Wow Maybee,

You've really made that work.

Now that's what I'm talking about!
oath5
15 years ago
C'est tres bien!

Pretty! You should get lots of OGR's, France should be riddled with them, no?
newdawn1895
15 years ago
A rose, is a rose, is a rose. Whoever said that, never got a look at Maybee's rose's.

Thank you for such a display of beautiful pictures.

Simply....Jane
maybee_france
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you Florence, that was my hope - to encourage other newbies to give roses a try (I mean especially OGRs, climbers and shrub types). For me they are the easiest, most generous plants and anyone can substantially improve almost any area with a few well-chosen specimens.

Eric, there are a lot of stone houses around here, mostly farmhouses, but many have been covered in stucco or render, whatever it's called. The stone looks charming to me but the new houses tend to be built out of bricks and mortar with stucco on top, certainly more practical!

Oath, there are many venerable OGRs growing in old gardens, sometimes right on the pavement in back lanes and such. They are often unkempt, which is a shame. Unfortunately, the modern trend in gardens is lawns with a few boring shrubs and perhaps some HTs lining driveways like soldiers!!! On the plus side, we have access to some great European hybridizers. Many wine growers make interesting use of roses by planting a single rose bush at the end of each row of vines. As roses and vines are subject to the same diseases, examining the rose tips them off to potentially damaging conditions for the vines!

Mkrkmr (Michael, yes?), my favourite companions so far are lavender (the dwarf cultivar Hidcote), Nepeta (catmint), hardy geraniums (Johnson's Blue) and sage of which there are so many kinds. I have Russian sage (Perowskia), Mexican sage (Salvia Patens) and Salvia Officinalis. I also like annual Lobelia. I think companions are a personal choice, trial and error and whatever works for you!

Jane, you are a sweetie! You know these aren't my best pictures, I was limited in having to use similar angles and ... no luscious closeups ... but I have those, too!!!

So, for those of you who like pretty pictures, here is Albertine:

{{gwi:276690}}

{{gwi:276692}}

{{gwi:276694}}

MayBee
mendocino_rose
15 years ago
You've done a wonderful job. The hardscaping doesn't necessarily have to cost a fortune. I've used stones from a local quarry, bought damaged statues on sale. Things come up and ideas occur. You've gone far in three years. It's much better that a garden takes time to build.
alicia7b
15 years ago
You have really transformed your yard! It's beautiful now. Congratulations!
zeffyrose
15 years ago
Maybee---Albertine is one of my favorite ramblers---nice picture of her pretty fragrant blooms-

Here is a picture from a couple of years ago---My DH ghad to climb up on the roof to give her a haircut-
{{gwi:205633}}

Florence
maybee_france
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you, Mendocino Rose, for your kind words. I know you are right on both counts! Other, more immediate, problems have diverted our energies of late, but the garden has already become a place for relaxation and quiet satisfaction, and that's the main thing, isn't it?

Alicia, thank you for saying that, most encouraging!

Florence, I love to see pictures of your glorious, monster roses! Quite magnificent. This one must be from the series "Find the house", no?

MayBee
karenforroses
15 years ago
MayBee, you have done miracles with your garden! It is so very lovely - what a difference. You should be very proud. Thanks for sharing your great before and after photos.
maybee_france
Original Author
15 years ago
Karen, I'm glad you liked the pictures, and yes, I am kinda proud of my hubby's vision and very pleased with his choice of roses. Beautiful as they are (and hopefully, better each year), I love that they are ALL (more or less) fragrant!

Cheers,

MayBee
mainerose
15 years ago
You brought back so many pleasant memories of 1964-65---the year I spent as a student at the Universite de Bordeaux. Thank you for sharing---your roses are lovely!
maybee_france
Original Author
15 years ago
Mainerose, thank you! Bordeaux is 40 km from our home and we go there often. I could not believe my eyes when I saw some of the world-famous vineyards stretching right into the residential areas! It's truly a special place. It's good to know you have happy memories of your time there.

MayBee

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