Last year I wrote how Freddy and Archie delighted in spending hours munching their way through the ripened grapes growing over our pool house. Well, this year Archie’s already in his element with the cherry tree in our front garden. His tactic is a simple one: jump. And it’s not just cherries he’s after either. He and Freddy (aided and abetted by Maggie May) have had a grand time pinching all the strawberries too. Just for fun I decided to grow some strawberry plants out by the office terrace. However, no sooner had the juicy fruit turned red than three hairy monsters gobbled them up, returning to the office smacking their lips in delight. I have since moved the pots out of reach in the hope that Nigel and I manage to eat one strawberry before the birds get them.

Actually, on the subject of gardens, you may like to know that France is to hold it’s national Gardens to Visit (mine is not on the list) next week which you may like to note in your diary. Entitled Rendez-vous aux Jardins, it takes place on Friday 30th, Saturday 31st and Sunday 1st June. This is a wonderful opportunity to visit some gardens not normally open to the public. Culture France has set up a special website with a programme showing all the gardens available to visit throughout France. Though the site is in French it’s easy to navigate as you can choose a particular department or theme which then gives you a long list of gardens. The link here takes you directly there.

Talking of weekends, this was also to be the weekend that Nigel and I were to drive over the the Aquitaine for a spot of house hunting. After much discussion we both decided to give ourselves another year or two before moving. What changed our minds? It’s difficult to say but I felt a keen sense of loss and knew I’d regret leaving. For one thing there are still so many more discoveries to be made and articles to be written for AMB Cote d’Azur. Secondly, this land has become my home and I love its culture, people and quirky ways.

And besides, Archie would miss the fun of nicking all my fruit . . .

The old English proverb, It never rains but it pours, seems to be the buzz word here on the French Riviera these past few days ever since the Cannes Film Festival started. As I write this it’s absolutely belting down and the forecast predicts worse is yet to come. I fear skimpy frocks and dainty shoes on the red carpet tonight would be better replaced by some stout old wellies and heavy-duty duffle coats. This rain is also rather unfortunate as my friend Ineke is down here visiting Montpellier for a few days and hoped to bask in some hot southern sunshine after the deluges of the UK recently. But things are made sadder as it’s her birthday today and like me (’cos it’s mine too) she remembers it nearly always sunny.

Pre-empting our move later on this year and as one of my birthday presents, Nigel bought me a super book entitled ‘Success with Mediterranean Gardens’ by Shirley-Anne Bell. The book has been compiled for gardeners yearning for a hot Mediterranean-style garden but who live in a cool, temperate zone (much like here really for the moment). As Nigel and I continue to discuss the type of property we’d like to have in Aquitaine, the idea of renovating an old place and creating a garden from scratch appeals to me more and more. And of course it goes without saying my new garden will do its utmost to care for the welfare of bees, butterflies and other endangered species.

Talking of bees, yesterday I met with the very lovely Carol Drinkwater and, my word, is she ever the busy bee. I’d interviewed Carol in 2005 when The Olive Route was just about to be published. Her latest book ‘The Olive Tree’ is due out in October and promises to be one incredible tour-de-force. While I have always admired Carol’s tenacity and passion to uncover the origins of the olive tree, her current work with UNESCO’s World Heritage and the environment is utterly staggering and deserves our full support. I’ll be writing a detailed report about my meeting with Carol and the work she is currently doing in the June issue of AMB. Indeed, while I might blog about my garden and its funny ways, environmental issues are seriously lacking on the website. Plans are currently underway to rectify this and I’ll be telling you more about them in my next editorial.

But today is my special day and so I’ve decided to spend it away from the office. Nigel is preparing a special birthday lunch for me though, sadly, not outdoors by our pool, and then I shall try and find some Mediterranean sunshine, even if it is between the pages of my new gardening book . . .

It’s been a bit of a mad rush recently. After the heavy rains of March and early April and before the heat of the summer sun sets the earth rock solid, I’ve been busy making the final touches to my English Cottage Garden. If you remember last year I’d started turning what was once patchy and forlorn looking grass just outside the office into something more elegant and fragrant. Like the little hamster I am, I sped off to all my favourite garden centres returning mission accomplished bearing armfuls of plants and seeds capable of surviving our summers and, truth be told, sometimes our cold, frosty winters. Yet one plant proved elusive and which would have been for me, the ‘icing on my cottage garden cake’, a Lady’s Mantle, Alchemilla mollis. So imagine my surprise and delight when I found it this year and bought, not just one plant (which of course would have sufficed as they self-seed with total abandon) but four. Happy Days!

While creating my cottage garden it was also very important to me that I make it bee and butterfly friendly. I thus paid special attention to growing their favourite plants as well as leaving a few nettles as caterpillar food. So now I have this wonderful hotchpotch of cottage garden plants such as forget-me-nots, foxgloves, ferns, buddleia, and campanula mixed in with runner beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, peppers, lavender (of course) and snapdragons all interspersed with thyme, mint, chives, sage, rosemary and nasturtiums. Many are still young plants that will need time to grow and develop and while most are in the ground, others jostle side by side in big earthenware pots. Photographed here is a carpenter bee enjoying a restful moment on the petals of a mauve iris growing down by our pool house. These are Big Boys with Character. On more than one occasion I have found myself face to face with one of these guys and they do not give way, standing their ground or, more frightening, matching your every move so all you can do is back off slowly. Scary.

I also tend to squirrel away tubers, crowns or bulbs everywhere and then forget where I’ve put them or what they are when they finally poke through. Such was the case a couple of weeks ago when a rather smart looking plant surfaced. Wow I thought, this is great, believing it to be the peony I’d planted a year or so ago. Which of course I had but not there. In fact, much to my embarrassment (after showing off my green fingers to Nigel) this rather gorgeously leafed plant turned out to be a humble yellow buttercup. The real peony was round the front of the house lodged between my vines and honeysuckle and completely hidden from view - until it blossomed into pure pink magic.

While I truly love watching my garden grow and delight at the sight of a seedling growing purposefully, I find it is the unexpected discoveries I love the best and afford me such special moments. Like finding the elusive Lady’s Mantle or a group of bluebells hidden in some undergrowth or enjoying the sight of masses of hollyhocks, plants that once lay dormant for years and now return in abundance. Long may I hope to continue discovering these special moments!