The Navarrenx ‘Twigloo’

Easter preparations for the gallery and the latest on ‘the dome’….

It all started early today, got up at 6.30 am , in the dark, with a sore throat & beginnings of a cold, my brain churning with too many things to do. I started with a bit of price-label hole-punching for the gallery and packing up old last season paintings  then as soon as it got light , whizzed over to Meritein in the ‘Lady car’, to gather several sackloads of dry composted leaves and more greenery from the chateau grounds .Luckily I had carefully saved most of the forest’s leaves that blow into our garden in a heap for mulching etc. Thanks to an endless supply of yellow re-cycling bags from the mayor, I was able to protect the pale blue carpet interior ( as we share this car with some friends from London) I then proceeded to ( sounding like a copper ) cut down another armful of shrubs in the forest, dug up some clumps of bulbs , a few extra saplings  and whatever humps of growing green stuff  I could cram in the car and returned home to find Dave just waking up..

The 'Twigloo' in the square

…decided to start dressing the ‘lady-dome’ at about 9.00   and thankfully help arrived all-be-it in the shape of Mrs Pons the wife of one eyed Jam -making man- not much of a gardener, but she took instruction well, became a good assistant and between us we made our own chelsea flower show garden make-over .  With muddy sore hands and soggy knees ( it had been raining for several days)I was back in the gallery at 10.30 to get on with pricing stuff and sweeping up straw….( part of my ‘mis en scene’ in the gallery required that I find some bales of straw for deco purposes ) 24 hours earlier,I had eventually found a straw supplier after driving round for hours , knocking on farmers doors. Without too much persuasion and at the knock down bargain price of 5€ each, I bought 4 big bales of straw for my rustic country painters corner – which had proven to be very rustic indeed covering the whole gallery  and house , with a fine layer of yellow dust – or was it Olive our Jack Russell Terrier, digging in them and deep sniffing for mice…!!?

All in all, lady dome is being well received and is improving with a bit of drizzle. The saplings are continuing to grow and It has given the usually grey cobbled central square Place des Armes in Navarrenx a touch of the  Andrew Goldsworthy….and is greener than it has ever been…!

More news tomorrow about the gallery & the dome after the easter weekend …..