This blog is about our garden in Brittany which, with Rohan’s energy and expertise has become, together with the cottage itself, a holiday haven. With the exception of plants that have simply ‘arrived’, every shrub, flower and tree has a history which Rohan knows and celebrates. Amongst them there are three that were given to her by Margaret, a woman with whom she has been close for ever which makes them particularly special. It was, after all, Margaret who looked after Rohan in New Zealand when she was a small child; then, in a role reversal when Margaret lived in London, it was Rohan who for thirty years and until Margaret died, visited her almost every week to chat and if needs be to help out.

For most of her old age, Margaret lived in a small terraced house in West London which, importantly, had only a small garden. When she was given plants and  space was at a particular premium, she would pass them on. It was three such hand-me-down plants that Rohan transported across the channel and planted in our Tréguennec garden, which at that time (around 2005) was just being laid out.

The first ‘Margaret’ gift that was planted has only this year – so over twenty years later – realised its potential to bear fruit – I am referring to our fig tree. When Margaret gave it to Rohan it was a skinny potted sprig around 30cm high. Now, it is a tree with four main trunks which spread out to provide a leafy canopy (unusually the leaves last the whole year) measuring about 6 metres high with a width to match.

Apart from growing and producing leaves, for over twenty years and to our disappointment, it produced next to nothing. There was the occasional fig but it stayed green and had little or no taste. More recently, those occasional figs turned a characteristic dark purple but this only happened in October. Extraordinarily, this year things suddenly changed which was a delight and a relief; the tree provided us with an enormous September crop of fruit (see illustration) that ripened over days, that tasted delicious and to which Rohan became essentially addicted. In just a few weeks she picked around ten kilos.

In a similar way, Margaret was the source of a handsome Scottish pine that was initially taken as a small sapling from some woods in Argyll, on the West Coast of Scotland, the one-time seat of Margaret’s family. The tree, still in its pot which when it arrived in around 2005, was given to Rohan as much as a present as for her to nurture and safeguard.

Once in Tréguennec it was planted on the edge of our orchard at the back gateway of our garden. Thankfully, it has thrived – maybe the sea salt in the Breton air reminds it of being in Argyll. It is as straight as die, produces cones galore and is already a mighty 20 metres high. When mature it is likely to be visible for miles. Importantly, photos and stories exchanged about the pine’s development became the focal point for Rohan and Margaret’s chats.

The third of Margaret’s plants is a small, Firecracker bush with silvery-grey leaves which this year has, as usual, covered itself in a mantle of  beautiful gold/yellow trumpet-shaped flowers. Notwithstanding its botanical features, it is a plant of special significance to Rohan because of an odd family link. It came to Margaret from Teheran via a friend, and Rohan is very aware of that city because her father, a diplomat, would talk of it with great warmth.

Our three plants that arrived in France by dint of Margaret’s kindness are all precious to us and could not have travelled from the UK today. Because of post-Brexit regulations, bringing garden plants from the UK to France in personal luggage or without proper certification is forbidden, as part of health regulations. Interestingly, Firecracker plants with mature root systems are able to tolerate drought, as was attested by the flowers it produced despite the plant being subjected this year to several months of heatwave. Using their genetic know how,  there is hope for the plant kingdom yet.

The illustration shows a photo of some of this year’s crop of figs at various stages hanging on our Tréguennec tree.

For helping me write this blog, I would like to thank Sarah, Rohan and Vivien.