I mean our first heat wave of the year. Already. The temperature is supposed to hit 85F this afternoon, and 90F tomorrow afternoon. We'll be spending time on our terrace (photos below) which is just off the living room and the kitchen.
We spent Sunday afternoon out there, in fact. The temperature wasn't torrid, but it was pleasant. And the company was great. We had a glass or two of wine and some home-made hummus and eggplant caviar with British friends that we hadn't seen since the beginning of the Covid pandemic five or six years ago. They brought along another American friend of theirs who has lived in Texas, New York, and California. Now she has lived in France for three or four years, if I understood correctly. It's not often that we have friends in these days, and it was a lot of fun.
The plant with yellow flowers in the photo above is a memory of my mother, who passed away in 2018. In 1997, she and I went on a road trip from North Carolina to Illinois and back. That's where I spent five or six years in graduate school back in the 1980s, and my mother had never seen the place. We stayed with old friends of mine who live outside Urbana. Somewhere along the way, my mother acquired a cutting of the sedum plant above. Back in N.C., she planted it in her back yard. When she sold her house in 2005, I went over there to help her move out. I returned to Saint-Aignan with a cutting from the sedum and I've had it growing here ever since.
Nice to have visitors every now and then. Beautiful setting! I love the sedum. Is it permitted to bring plants from the States? I had wanted to take a couple of cuttings from my mother’s plants, but I was afraid I’d set off alarms.
ReplyDeleteI once heard, on a very respectable radio programme about gardening, someone ask when was the best time to take cuttings, getting the expert's answer - "When nobody's looking!"
ReplyDeleteFunny! I didn't want to say outright that my mother had just broken some pieces off a plant growing decoratively on the grounds of a motel we stayed at in southern Illinois. But that's what she did.
DeleteI don't think France has any restrictions on bringing plants into the country. Several friends of mine — Friends CHM, E, and my mother have brought me cuttings of plants from the U.S. Nobody has had any problems with customs at CDG airport.
It's not like driving, for example, into California, when they often inspect people's cars upon arrival in need to have their vehicles inspected to make sure they aren't bringing in plants that are not allowed in, or ones carrying diseases or parasites. When Walt and I left DC and drove to California towing my car behind a U-Haul truck, I filled up the car with potted plants and it served as a rolling greenhouse for the duration of the trip (4 or 5 days). At the border, the Calif. Ag. officials just asked me if they were houseplants. My answer (yes) satisfied them.
Ha! yes, I was going to say they same - they will look for you bringing plants into CA at the state border.
DeleteYour balcony looks so inviting. Loving your geraniums.
The Agriculture business is very protective of their borders in many states due to the ease of bad insects, dirt and all kinds of seeds that can attach themselves to the under carriage of cars, trailers, etc. Bringing the same into the US from other countries is also ripe for problems. (from my horticulture studies in college). Your terrace is so inviting and the sedum is a nice addition!
ReplyDeleteSaw this this morning, and forgot to comment, but I loved seeing your terrace 😍
ReplyDeleteJudy
I love hearing the sedum story. I'm like your mom, I gather cuttings and seeds as lasting souvenirs.
ReplyDelete