On 6/9/04 8:12 pm, in article , "JennyC"
wrote:

Hello all,

Just come back from visiting English friends in the Dordogne. Of course the
subject of gardening came up.........

Question 1:
The conditions there seem difficult. It's hot and dry in the summer but can
get
down to minus 15 on occasions ! The soil in my friends garden is on a very
steep hillside with only very little poor quality topsoil over a layer of rock
and clay. Water just runs of and it's hard to get things established.

I was wondering whether any URGler's :
have experience of gardening in the Dordogne
or have friends there who might be able to help
or know of any specialist books on the subject

Question 2:
ATM she is looking for a plant to cover the top of a bank (cut away to make
room
for extending the house) The plant needs a good root system to hold the earth
in
place + hanging quality to drape over the raw edge (she does not want a
retaining wall or whathaveyou) Evergreen would be good too..........

In that climate of intense cold and intense heat and heavy rain at times, I
think she's begging for trouble if she doesn't build a retaining wall. I
wouldn't want to be responsible for suggesting that any plant could do that
kind of job! That's soil that's going to move around a LOT - big trouble,
IMO.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)