September

While we had the rental car we visited the 2.5 hectare  water lilly garden of Latour-Marliac, where over 200 varieties of water lillies are grown in the cultivation pools.The nursery was founded in 1875 by Latour -Marliac for the propagation of water lilies. At the time there was only one hardy white water lily in Europe. He was able to cross this with other wild varieties & build up a collection ranging in colour from delicate yellow to deep red & export all over the world. Monet was inspired by his water lillies & decided to grow them himself, at his home at Giverny, hence, his water liliy paintings, known as Nympheas.

Victoria, Giant water lily. This water lily, sets flowers that measure one foot across. The leaves, (pads) can become four feet in diameter. The Victoria is a nocturnal & hermaphrodidic plant. Each flower blooms for only two nights. On the first night the flower is female, being white, & smelling strongly of pineapple. On the second night the flower becomes male, turning deep pink. The flower is pollinated the 1st night  by a type of beetle native to the Amazaon River basin. When the flower closes up in the morning, the beetles are trapped inside, & it is in trying to escape that they spread the flowers's pollen. The head gardener at the Duke of Devonshire's estate, Chatsworth, named it Victoria, in honour of the Queen.

Lotus. The lotus has enormous leaves that grow high out of the water & has peony-like flowers. Each flower lasts three to five days, after which the petals fall away to reveal a conical seedpod that resembles a water can spout. The leaves, roots & seeds of the lotus are edible. The plant has a long history as a religious symbol, particularly in India. It grows in Europe as a perennial, but,grows best in regions with lots of sunlight

Sometimes, during the summer months on NZ we find we get really itchy bites which are caused by a very tiny black insect like a small sandfly. In France they call them flees. They have been about for the last 8 weeks & are most annoying as they spit a juice (that is what causes the itch) which stains the paintwork on Boats & is most difficult to remove. We tried all sorts of cleaners & with lots of rubbing made some impression. Recently we were told about a chlorine based liquid which is diluted, applied & left fror 5 minutes, then rinsed off & voila! , we have a nice clean boat.

One day we stopped at an extremely interesting museum which was owned by an elderly couple & housed their collection of minerals, fossils, coral, sand & shells, which they had gathered during their travels around the world.

They explained  about the development of  the earth & how all the different coloured minerals etc were formed. It was so informative.

Stromatilites. These fossils can be found dating back to 3.5 million years. They have grown from an algae, which was the first to produce oxygen, which modified the composition of the atmosphere on earth to enable the creation of the first animals. Stromatolites consume carbon dioxide & release oxygen by photosynthesis metabolism.

  

We went as far as Meilhan on the Canal lateral de Garonne, about 70km from Bordeaux, then turned back & are making our way towards our winter mooring. The weather is a little cooler now.

Barry eating his favourite cake from the pattisierre. - A Paris Brest