I hope that you are enjoying being in your gardens after the Christmas festivities. For some of you there’s a chance to visit gardens in other regions if you’re away on holiday.

It’s a very busy November here with many garden visitors. I do enjoy the conversations and amazing connections that come with these visits.

One of the questions that has been asked is about our nursery plants which are for sale. We have a small range of plants propagated from plants that grow here. 

I realised with my previous two newsletters that they should have been titled Writing from Normandy in France which makes it clearer, although I’ve been back in New Zealand for three weeks. 

Continuing the story of the development of my garden in Normandy …

So many of you have been asking about my garden in France, so I'll do my best to describe the process, which has been convoluted at times.

As winter I moving along, most gardeners will be thinking about plans for the coming year in the garden. One of the things that is uppermost in our minds is the increasingly hot weather and quite possibly long dry spells.

I've decided that I am going to write to "Friends" instead of "Gardening Friends" as there are many readers who no longer garden, but enjoy the newsletters.

After a disturbingly wet week for many people we are now enjoying gentle autumn days where colours change and blend seamlessly while leaves drop gently in soft sounds.

I'm starting to write on a rainy Easter Monday morning. As gardeners we are always pleased to get rain, but it's time for a pause. Besides, it's too wet to garden without compacting the soil. A good time for seed sowing, reading and reflection, and reading a newsletter from Frensham.

February disappeared without me having written a newsletter. Things such as major house renovations, a very busy month in the garden, and general life took over. As we have had such a mild summer with plenty of rain, it has been possible to continue planting out and moving plants throughout February, so a lot has been achieved.

As I write to many people from different parts of the world, I am going to mention the weather, a topic so much on every gardener's tongues these days. We have had an unprecedented amount of rain in our region over December and into January, which has changed the nature of our gardening during this time.

I have met so many of you over the years at my garden that I think it's time to change to a more personal greeting. I tried to get the newsletter to you before the end of November but it was such a busy month with garden visitors and garden tasks. Then December came and Christmas was upon us.

On a gloriously wet afternoon I am writing a newsletter to you all, and it's on time. Having said "gloriously wet" I do feel so sorry for people living in parts of the country where plants and crops are being severely affected.

I am going to break a few rules here so that I can tell you all that I want to say, and catch up on the last two months. So that my writing corresponds to the photos that I'd like to share, this is the September newsletter.

I am taking the liberty of writing about my garden in Normandy, France, as so many readers have asked about this. Some of you will be Instagram followers and this is taken directly from the post. There will be a second part to the development of this garden to follow.

There is always so much to write about but sometimes it is hard to start, and now is one of those times. I didn't write to you last month as we have been fairly busy with our lives here in Normandy in France.

We arrived at our home in Normandy in France in the second week of May and we will be staying for the usual three months. It is nine years since we bought our place.

Along with many people, this is my favourite time of the year as the garden quietly starts to rest. It's a time for plants and people to contemplate, while the changing autumn colours can be enjoyed until they fall and disappear in one way or another.

We have already slipped into April as this newsletter goes out. February had its usual hot days and many drying winds, so most of the time was spent watering where possible (we have our own well), as well as continuing with a lot of late summer pruning.