Winter
The double lime trees lane, the trees and shrubs among which the flowering apple tree "Malus floribunda", the two yews and the metallic structures designed for ‘’climbing plants’’ erect their vertical silhouettes above the lanes and mark the different flower beds, thus justifying their nickname ‘’graves’’. The only rose trees, peonies ; iris, and perennials, among which the ‘’Aubrieta’’ gently boarding the flower beds, are still staying in place.
December: the gardeners are busy. The earth is ploughed, the spring flowering bulbs and rhizomes are planted. Imperial crown (Fritillaria imperialis), asphodels (Eremurus), all sorts of tulips. Every plantation hole receives a quantity of manure in order to feed the roots and improve the texture of the ground. As soon as tulips are installed, comes the turn of the smaller sized bulbs such as – anemones, triteleia and the vigorous iris from Holland (I. xiphium). Between mid-December and Chrismas, the plantations are achieved (except if the weather is capricious).
January: it's time for transplantations of biennials, with all the worries about weather and unexpected diseases. Not less than one hundred eighty thousands plants (annual, biennial, and perennial ) monopolize the gardeners for four to six weeks. The ones which have been planted in glasshouses and grown in the fields close to them, pansies (Viola), catchflies (Silena), myosotis, campanulas with big flowers (Campanula medium), wallflowers or "ravenelles’’ (Erysinum cheiri) which will be pinched for an optimal flowering.
February : it's time to trim the rose trees, whose flowering is planned for August. Around the "water garden’’, main activity concerns the "nymphéas". most of them coming from Latour-Marliac, the same specialized seed bed as at Monet's time, they are cut from a boat in prevision of an eventual freezing period which would dramatically cut the stems. The flowering apple tree opens its first leaves…
