Australasian Darter

 

 An Australasian Darter snoozes on the wreck of the French ship Adolphe, now embedded into the breakwater at Stockton Beach, on the central New South Wales coast.

The Australasian Darter Anhinga novaehollandiae can be found on water bodies both inland and at the coast. Like cormorants they dive for fish.

 A male Australasian Darter on the breakwater at Stockton, New South Wales.

Norfolk Island Pine

Norfolk Island Pine Araucaria heterophylla is endemic to the small (35km²) Australian territory of Norfolk Island in the Pacific Ocean. As a consequence, the native population of this attractive tree is relatively small, but it is necessarily resistant to salt and wind, and so has become a very popular shore front tree planted on the temperate east coast of Australia. Unlike many trees it retains its symmetrical shape no matter how strong the prevailing wind.

When they are young they have an almost artificially perfect 'Christmas tree' form, but they get a bit more random looking with age. They live to about 150 years and are one of the relics from the age of dinasaurs.

In Europe, although you often see their Chilean cousin, the Monkey Puzzle A. araucana, in parks and gardens, Norfolk Island Pine does not seem to be planted here. You see it sometimes as an indoor plant, as it copes well with limited light and grows slowly enough not to outgrow its pot too quickly. Indoor Norfolk Island Pines are very young specimens, and their leaves hang down. It's only when they get bigger and older that the leaves lift up into that distinctive upturned frond.

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Orchard Update: Yesterday I spent the afternoon creating a ratatouille ready bed, for the tomato, aubergine, zucchini and pepper seedlings I bought at Verneuil. They are thriving on the front courtyard, but are still in their little seedling pots and need to be put out. The Saints des Glaces have passed, and no late frosts are predicted. The sun shone (mostly) while I worked, the turtle doves purred and the crickets chirruped. Tiny nectarines and cherries are forming on the trees. A team of Violet Fritillary butterflies were doing an excellent job of pollinating our strawberries and the first Blue Featherleg damselfly of the season was drifting about by the stream. The paulownia is covered in lavender coloured flowers and the orchids gorgeous.

Looking out the Window

We love the views you get out of the distorted window glass of chateaux. This view is from inside the chateau of Azay le Rideau, looking across the canal towards what is now the restaurant, taken in early April.
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General News: Our trip to Tours was uneventful (except for nearly running out of fuel and arriving at the first service station with the fuel light on, only to discover that they had run out of diesel...) We were in and out of the Préfecture in an hour, and Claudette now has a new set of number plates. The farmers were all out on the road with their tractors heading to work in the fields along the D50. You can see which fields have been planted with sunflowers and which with maize now, as the newly planted crops have their first couple of leaves. The overwintering canola is still flowering like mad, the barley with obvious whiskery heads and turning increasingly yellowy green, whilst the wheat is still mostly ear free and blue green.

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Orchid Update: I took the scenic route home from the supermarket yesterday so I could do a driveby survey of some of my good orchid sites. Wow!! The orchids are looking superb all over, including a colony of rare hyperchromatic Man x Monkey hybrids. The Carthusian Pinks are also out, so purpley pinks of all hues and tints rule at the moment on the roadside banks.

Trapped

The chateau of Azay le Rideau is clearly worried it has a clothes moth problem. Tucked under a chair in the Biencourt's morning room is a triangular trap, made of folded card. These inexpensive little items feature a sticky base and are known as blunder traps, as insects (and occasionally small mammals) simply walk across them by accident. They get trapped on the sticky surface and the curator or conservator checks the trap regularly to count the victims.

The traps are for monitoring, not for control. They are to indicate the presence or absence of insect pests to the collections care staff. They can give an idea of relative abundance or rarity, but no real quantitative information. In this case they will be monitoring for clothes moth and their larvae, known as woolly bears. The carpet is old and woollen -- a favourite target of clothes moth caterpillars. The woolly bears can be difficult to spot, as they are often covered in fibres from the carpet and totally camouflaged.

If the staff find the numbers being caught are increasing they will take action to eradicate the pest. The carpet will be thoroughly cleaned by vacuuming both sides and inspected minutely by a conservator. It may also be laid upside down on a sheet and gently beaten to dislodge dirt and bits of organic waste that could attract or harbour pests, or otherwise damage the carpet. Any other objects in the room that might be susceptible will be checked and cleaned. Nooks and crannies that insect pests like to hide in will be investigated and cleaned. If necessary objects will be wrapped in plastic and put in a freezer or a sealed CO² chamber for a few days, killing off eggs, larvae and adults very effectively and without risk to the object.

It is unlikely the curators will use any sort of chemical pesticide, as it may adversely affect historic objects. For example, the woollen pile of the carpet will be dyed with natural substances. There is no way of knowing how such dyes will react to being sprayed with a pesticide -- they are often not fast, and could run if the wool gets wet. For some types of pests though, they may resort to slightly more sophisticated blunder traps, with pheromone impregnated sticky bases. These can be used for control, but are only useful against the single species that is attracted to the particular pheromone used.

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Orchard News: More than half of the potatoes I planted are up. The blossom has just about finished, with only the apples still with any flowers. The strawberries are flowering well, but no fruit yet. The grapevines have lots of leaves, but still too small for dolmas. The grass is mid-thigh height with gently waving seedheads. Insects of all sorts love this, as they can drift amongst the shimmying grass in camouflaged protection. Our orchard neighbour has mowed paths between his walnut trees, but otherwise none of us have mowed yet. I was impressed to see he has mowed around his substantial Lizard Orchids, now sending up huge fat flowerbud spikes. The much smaller young Lizard Orchids in our orchard are going to flower too. The orchids in the potager have turned out to be two different species, Bee and Early Spider. Yesterday I disturbed a Western Whip Snake in the potager twice (I assume two different individuals).

The Bee Orchids have just started to flower in the orchard.

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General News: We are having a rather trying time at the moment. Neither of us is feeling all that well (seasonal and weather related) and it is one of those periods when money seems to be flowing out of the coffers at a considerably greater rate than it is flowing in. We went to visit Claudette over in the lair of the Great Wizard of Chateauroux on Tuesday. The good news is that he has got her to the stage where she passed her CT (roadworthy). The bad news is that to do so she was fitted out with two brake drums from Jean-Louis' private stock, as the new ones he bought for her are not round. This is the same problem we had with Célestine. Unfortunately, there is only one manufacturer of Traction brake drums. Jean-Louis doesn't know if they have just unloaded a crummy batch on the retailer we use, or if they are all now like that. He will be on the phone and having some strong words to say. We can only have his brake drums temporarily, and hopefully he is going to be able to negotiate some mutually acceptable solution with the manufacturer. Anyway, armed with the new CT and all the other documentation (including a cheque...) we are off to Tours today to finalise the transfer of ownership and get new licence plates for her.

Adding to our woes is the dishwasher having decided to invoke its overflow / anti-leak mechanism. All it will do is flash lights at us. So far as we can tell it needs to be pulled out of its slot under the bench and tipped forward to reset the sensor. We don't know what set it off in the first place -- it appears to have neither leaked nor overflowed, and is not full of water. Naturally it is out of warranty. We are hoping that Stéphane, who has moved to Paris, is coming down for the weekend, as Simon needs an assistant to get the dishwasher out, and Stéphane is the man who got it in there in the first place so may remember what the trick is.

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Loches Market: Yesterday we shopped at Loches market, one of the best in the area and one we take clients to a lot. We noticed that the horse butcher, Jean Michel Daveau, had goat meat for sale (he also had lamb). There were cutlets, chops (labelled 'ragout'), boned leg and boned rolled shoulder, all for half the price of the lamb. We bought a kilo of the 'ragout' for €8.20. Curry goat coming up -- when we got home I made up a batch of Jamaican curry powder and the goat meat is now rubbed and in the fridge overnight for cooking tomorrow. I asked him why it was so rare to be able to get goat meat here, when there are so many goats, but he didn't really have an answer.

We also bought an excellent piece of Brie de Melun from the wonderful cheese van, a baguette from our favourite baker, some forest honey from a producer based between Chatillon and Loches, more green asparagus from the strawberry and asparagus woman, potatoes (baking and new) and some huge rhubarb stalks from the market gardeners across the river in Beaulieu-lès-Loches and a bag of canellés (rich little cakes that are toffee on the outside and custardy on the inside).

Wonderful Wall Paintings!

 The final scene in the sequence of Christ being tempted by the Devil. I love the slightly sheepish aspect of the Devil and the somewhat peeved expression on Christ's face -- both are thinking 'oh no, not again...'

One morning in late March we were sitting around in the lobby of the Hotel Diderot in Chinon, waiting for our clients to finish breakfast. I noticed that there were some leaflets on the side table for a church with wall paintings that I had never heard of, so I picked one up and was immediately intrigued by what I read. By good luck the church was exactly on the route we planned to take with the clients, so we asked them if they would be interested in stopping there. We told them we had never seen this church, but it looked fascinating. They readily agreed, and so we made the wonderful discovery together.

A wider view of the various temptation episodes.

The church of Saint Martin in Lignières en Touraine is situated between Azay le Rideau and Langeais. It dates from the 12th century and inside is like a mini Saint Savin. The wall paintings are contemporary with the oldest parts of the church, but have been retouched several times, in the 13th and 14th centuries. They were professionally restored and conserved in 2008-09. The church is open every day and entry is free. If you want to illuminate the painted ceiling you put a €2 coin in a slot. That gives you about 10 minutes and we put in €4 in total.

Abel is blessed by a disembodied arm.

The paintings are utterly captivating. You don't need to be overly familiar with your Bible stories to identify what the paintings are illustrating, and anyway, there is a brief, but excellent guide (in French and English) available for visitors to read and fill in any details they are unsure of.

Panels from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man has died (centre left) and the monsterous dog like Devil lies in wait to take him to Hell.

Decorating the arch as you enter the apse is a series of boxes representing the months of the year. Lengthwise down the barrel vaulted ceiling are a series of 'cartoon' style stories -- Christ being tempted by the Devil, the story of Adam and Eve and the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, and the parable of the rich man (Dives) and the poor man (Lazarus). Over the altar is Christ in Majesty. On one of the window surrounds is Cain and Abel. The stained glass is 19th century, and the theme of the window now bears no relationship to the theme of the painting surrounding it, resulting in a disembodied hand blessing Abel. Antoinette explains in her post on Chez Charnizay that this was a convention to avoid having to portray God.

The angels gently and lovingly receive the soul of Lazarus, the poor man.

Naturally I immediately alerted Antoinette to the existence of this church, in the hope that she and Niall would go to visit soon and write one of their erudite posts about it. I am pleased to see that they have obliged.

Looking straight up, showing the story of Adam and Eve above and the rich man and Lazurus below.

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Next week is the annual national Fête de la Nature. This year's theme is 'small creatures'. Please support your local nature enthusiasts by attending an event near you.

Heath Fritillary butterfly - a photo series

To learn more about this species go to the page about them on Loire Valley Nature.

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Botany Club Outing: There is a visit to the private section of the park of the Chateau des Ormes on Saturday 18 May. Meet at 2.30 pm in the grand place in Les Ormes on the D910 (at the lights, on the right, if you are coming from Tours).

Susan

Ussé Driveby

The chateau of Ussé is very satisfactorily chateau-y, with plenty of pointy bits. It sits high above the road that runs parallel to the river Indre, and if you don't want to go in, at least take the time to park up and cross the river to marvel at the chateau as it faces you directly over the narrow bridge. It's quite large as Loire chateaux go, with many phases of building exhibited in the various architectural styles as you 'read' it from one side to the other.

Check out all those architectural styles -- medieval towers, renaissance twiddly bits, classical windows, all charmingly combined in one impressive building.

Looking down the River Indre from the bridge in late March.

A lovely medieval and renaissance collection of towers, roofs, chimneys and windows.

We've written about Ussé several times before, for example, here and here.

Outsmarting the Blackberries

Blackberries Rubus fruticosus agg are an invasive alien plant in Australia, declared a noxious weed that landowners are obliged to attempt to control. The problem is it escapes into the bush and creates dense impenetrable thickets several metres high and many metres in diameter. Growing along creek banks it can restrict access to the water and easily out competes the natural vegetation.

Blackberry thickets also harbour another invasive alien species -- foxes. The foxes set up home under the protection of the thorny blackberry canes and their diet includes ripe blackberries, leading to seeds being excreted to start new colonies.

 Warning sign on Melba Hill in Canberra.

The blackberries are extremely difficult to control. The best method is to adopt an integrated approach, introducing a rust for biological control, followed by careful spraying with a herbicide. Even within a best practice regime, years of monitoring and spot control must be undertaken before you can be sure an area is blackberry free.

Brayshaw's Hut

Within the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) there are some magnificent alpine National Parks. The largest is Namadgi NP, which covers nearly 50% of the ACT. Today it presents as wilderness, albeit with easy access from the city of Canberra.

Brayshaw's hut.

However, it does have a relatively recent history of human habitation. Up until the 1980s, Namadgi was divided into a series of farms. Brayshaw's Hut, built in 1903 of anything that could be found in the landscape, is a remnant of this period.

A typical natural clearing in the mountains.

It was occupied for nearly 30 years by David Brayshaw, who grazed stock on the natural clearings in the mountains. It was a hard and isolated life. He never married and lived alone for all of that time. The climate is harsh and the soils poor, so there was no possibility of planting crops.

A Brushtail Possum Trichosurus vulpecula in the roofspace of Brayshaw's Hut.

His hut has been restored by volunteers as an acknowledgement of this period in the history of the place.

Rosnay Common

Rosnay Common.

If you are at all botanically inclined then Rosnay Common in the Brenne is the place to be in May and June. It's official name is Les Communaux de Rosnay and it is managed by well known local LPO (Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux) officer and deputy mayor of Rosnay, Tony Williams, on behalf of the Conservatoire d'espaces naturel de la région Centre.

Orchids and other wildflowers in the prairie.

Much of the following is translated from the official website:

The difficulties of farming in the Brenne have driven a progressive abandonment of natural grazing land (prairie) so that they rapidly scrub over, or are farmed more intensively. The Common is an exception. A diversity of habitats depending on agricultural practices adapted for the site form the basis of a fabulously biodiverse spot. The Common gives birth in spring to thousands of flowering orchids and the Tongue Orchid Serapias lingua colony here is one of the largest in France.

Tongue Orchids.

The site is 3km south of the village of Rosnay. Take the RD32 towards Ciron. Just before the electricity line crosses the road there is a track leading off to the left that takes you to the site. It is best to park on the side of the road and walk down the track. Once you enter the site through the kissing gate, the main botanical interest is in the field to your right, accessed over a stile.

Loose Flowered Orchid.

The whole site covers 21 ha and is made up of damp grazing land, a 'button' of dry heath, a pond and hedges.

An unco-operative Spotted Fritillary butterfly on an Oxeye Daisy.

It's rare these days to get the Common to yourself. The group in the photo above were on a Naturetrek tour. It has become very well known and on the list of every visiting naturalist. One advantage of this is that you can easily identify the entrance because there will usually be at least one car parked on the side of the road there. The disadvantage is that the site is increasingly at risk from trampling, as there are no designated paths.

Apart from the orchids, which also include Green-winged and Lesser Butterfly, expect to see species of milkwort, flax, speedwell, yellow rattle and small rushes, as well as Black Darter dragonflies and numerous butterfly species. Note that Rosnay is pronounced 'ronnay'.

Susan

Who Uses Eggcups These Days?

Well, I do occasionally, for a soft boiled egg.

And so, it turns out, do classic car owners with dodgy headlight bulbs.

Many thanks to our friends Megan and Bryan for supplying this vital aid to car maintenance.

Lest We Forget

The Cenotaph, Martin Place, Sydney.

There will be ceremonies at war memorials all over France today, as it is Victory in Europe Day.

The Slates are on the Roof Here

Those who live south of Tours and habitually travel up the D50, via Ligueil, to get to the city will know this place. It is where you turn right at the lights to get on the old Route Nationale (now the D910) at Veigné. (Anyone who relies on Google Maps for directions will now have no idea where I'm talking about, as convincing Google Maps to take the route that everyone actually uses here is nigh on impossible.)

La Folie is a prime example of the 'if there is a crowd of white vans outside, that's the best place to have lunch' principle. Between 12 noon and 1.30 pm, there is always a crowd of white vans, whose drivers are inside partaking of no frills, good value food. The starter is a buffet of salads and charcuterie, there is a daily changing choice of three main courses, cheese and half a dozen classic or seasonal desserts, for €11.50. Wine is included, coffee is extra.

 Inside the restaurant there is a roof slate hanging on a post. Written in chalk on it is the message 'Ici à la Folie, les ardoises sont sur le toit' (literally, 'Here at the Folly, the slates are on the roof'). It's a slightly cryptic way of saying 'Please do not ask for credit as refusal often offends'. I would have liked to take a photo, but didn't want to seem too weird and foreign, so I didn't. It occurred to me that the slate could send another message too -- 'here at the Folly we don't go in for poncy food presentation.'

Chalk Milkwort

All through the grass on the limestone slopes in this area you see rather unusually shaped bright blue little flowers from late spring onwards. The individual flowers are made up of two gentian blue sticky out 'ears' either side of a paler toothy tube.

A typical rosette of Chalk Milkwort,
nicely shown off against the chalky soil.

They belong to Chalk Milkwort Polygala calcarea, a plant that only grows in these short calcareous grasslands. Common Milkwort grows on banks and on woodland fringes here too, but is a paler blue or quite often mauve or sometimes white.

A detail of the same plant.

The Milkworts are so called because they had a reputation for enhancing milk production in nursing mothers. All the internet references say the plant was used by women who wanted to increase their milk supply, but when I mentioned this therapeutic use to a French botanist friend he was quick to point out that there was a crucial difference in the French traditional use. It is for goats, not for people! All the local cheeses here are made from goats' milk, and the goats would traditionally have grazed on the limestone slopes too steep for ploughing. In the course of their grazing they would happily have eaten the Milkwort as part of their naturally herb and flower rich diet.

Susan

It's Dry in Australia

We saw a lot of these sorts of signs on our last visit to Australia. It tells me that many (most?) local authorities are tackling a serious alcohol problem in their communities. The Alcohol Free Zones apply to roads, footpaths and carparks. Similar signs which say 'Alcohol Prohibited Area' apply to parks, recreation spaces, beaches and reserves. In both cases the consumption of alcohol in the designated area is prohibited 24/7. If the police see you with an opened container of alcohol they will tip the alcohol in the gutter and there is an on the spot fine.

The zones are set up in response to police and/or community concerns for the safety of particular areas. The aim is to stop extremes of rowdy behaviour, vandalism and fighting, particularly when there is a crowd of party goers involved.

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Botany Club Outing: There is an outing to Sainte Maure de Touraine on Thursday 9 May (Ascension). The club will walk along the GR655. Meet at 2.30 pm in front of the Mairie at Sainte Maure.

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Orchard News: It seems we did get a frost on Monday night after all. I noticed that the newly emerging leaves on the Chasselas grape are burnt, but nothing else seems touched. I finally managed to plant something in the potager. 23 Stemster seed potatoes have gone in, and I've roughly dug over another bed for some of the plants I'll buy today at the Verneuil plant fair. I hoed a path between the two beds and have sowed some crimson clover as green cover. If the ants don't take the seeds it should be tough enough to cope with being walked on occasionally, and encourage pollinators as well. I'm very pleased to see that the solitary bees have just started to use one of my bee hotels. It's situated in one of the apple trees and it looks like the occupant is a Red Mason Bee Osmia rufa. A second species of orchid, Lady Orchid Orchis purpurea is now flowering amongst the fruit trees and I got some nice photos of a spring colouration Map Araschnia levana butterfly. The first Clubtail Gomphus sp dragonfly of the season fluttered by, but I didn't get a good enough look to identify it to species level. 

The orchard Lady Orchid has particularly pretty pinked petals.

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Health News: My hayfever is still with me. My voice is back but croaky and my eyes itchy and streaming. Just now I feel like I have a chest infection, but I am sure it is just the hayfever. The worst thing is how exhausted it makes you feel, so you just get nothing done because you are too tired.

I went to the opthalmologist on Thursday for a check up. I made the appointment in January and 2 May was the earliest I could get in. The fee was €38, of which I suppose I will get about half back. I went because there is a history of various eye conditions in my family, including glaucoma, but I am happy to report I have nothing to worry about yet. The doctor did give me a new lens prescription though, so that will be €600 out of the savings no doubt. France has recently been outed as the most expensive country in the EU to buy glasses, being about a third dearer than anywhere else.

Beach Competition

 Dune Fan Flower.

This pretty blue flower, called Dune Fan Flower Scaevola calendulacea, grows on coastal sand dunes from South Australia right up to north Queensland. It should be part of a colourful complex that includes grey green Dune Spinifex grass Spinifex seraceus, yellow Guinea Flower Hibbertia scandens and bright purply pink Pigface Carpobrotus spp, which grow together in the sand, acting to stabilise and bind the shifting grains. Sadly, it and its indigenous companions are being pushed out by vigorous interlopers such as Beach Pennywort Hydrocotyle bonariensis from America and Ground Asparagus Fern Asparagus aethiopicus 'Sprengeri' from Africa.

Native Pigface (with the succulent leaves and shocking pink flowers) being swallowed up by triffiding Ground Asparagus Fern.

These non-native species are often capable of holding more sand than the native plants, resulting in the dunes getting steeper and altering the shape, behaviour and access to the sea of coastal lakes. Ground Asparagus Fern, forms a dense matrix of rhizomes, blocking out any other plant. It is considered such a problem in certain areas of New South Wales that it is illegal to propagate, sell, or even give it away. The problem is that birds eat and transport the seeds, spreading the plant widely. Rather alarmingly, the current government recommended control method is to saturate the plant with diesel!

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International Firefighters Day: All the firefighters in Preuilly are volunteers, and across France about 50% of firefighters are salaried, 50% volunteers. They are the lead emergency service group, and not only fight fires but attend car accidents and natural disasters. They risk their lives regularly, and the psychological impact of their job on individuals can be enormous. Firefighters often have to deal with dead or injured people and pets. They say that the worst are fire fatalities and the sudden death or injury of children. They need support not only to run the fire brigade, but also to cope with the stresses of the job and get on with their off duty life. International Firefighters Day is 4 May, set up to acknowledge and support their work. Many towns will set their fire sirens off at midday on the first Sunday in May as a prelude to a minutes silence in remembrance of those who have lost their lives.

A Typical Chinon Vineyard

We photographed this scene one evening a few weeks ago near Chinon. This is a typical vineyard in early spring, with vines pruned to a single leader. No sign of leaves yet -- it was too early and the buds are tight little buttons, just as they should be in late March. The winemaker has very sensibly let the grass grow under the vines rather than apply a herbicide. The grass absorbs excess moisture and creates a microclimate at low level which benefits the vines. It also means that you can work amongst the vines without churning up the wet winter soil and risking the vine roots becoming exposed due to erosion.

Because this is Chinon, the grapes will almost certainly be Cabernet Franc. The winemaker's house is in the background, tucked into the limestone ridge, whilst the grapes are planted on the richer and sandier lower slopes. There will undoubtedly be a cave near the house, an old limestone mine dug into the hillside, that now serves as a cellar. The farm buildings are all local limestone, and the roofs are slate.

A Black Look

In 2011 the permanent gardens dotted about the International Garden Festival in the grounds of the Chateau de Chaumont-sur-Loire were sky, sapphire and indigo. Last year they were ebony, coal and Tyrian purple.

They are always a wonderful display of plantsmanship from the permanent team at the gardens. My photos don't do the garden justice. This was the best display of 'black' plants I've seen, but I could only snap a couple of quick shots because I had a client with me. If you are a guide and taking great photos, you are not focusing on the clients.

The expression 'a black look' always makes me think of Les, an Aboriginal ex-colleague of ours. One of his favourite jokes was to tell you that he had given someone a black look.

Wildlife Watching in the Touraine du sud in May

Swifts and Swallows are well established. The swifts spend their days swooping and turning in the sky, announcing their presence always with their incessant whistling scream. The swallows will be lower down, skimming the crops and even the streets, chasing each other and chattering, inspecting the insides of barns for nest sites and resting on overhead wires so you can admire their smart dress uniform. I'm hoping to get photographs this year of swifts nesting in the inner gatehouse at the entrance to the citadel in Loches. The martins are already busy nesting under house eaves.

Clubtail dragonflies will stage their mass emergence and demoiselles will start twinkling all over.

Common Clubtail Gomphus vulgatissimus (male).This was taken last year, but according to a contact of mine they have already emerged on the Loire in Tours.

Stands of intense blue Granny's Bonnets Aquilegia vulgaris appear on the forest fringes and roadside banks of Carthusian Pink Dianthus carthusianorum turn...well...red!

Grannys Bonnets, or Columbines.

On 1 May in much of Europe it is traditional to give a sprig of Lily of the Valley Convallaria majalis (muguet in French) to friends and family for good luck throughout the year. How the plants in the forest survive the annual onslaught of widely advertised outings to pick the flowers in the wild I do not know. The somewhat underwhelming photo below is the best I could manage last year in late May.
Chafer beetles and moths will come to lit windows at night. Look out especially for the big Cockchafers Melolontha melolontha and Giant Peacock moths Saturnia pyri.

Cockchafer (female).

The lovely jewel like reed beetles Plateumaris sericea will be getting a spring in their step. Here they are on a Yellow Iris Iris pseudacorus in the Brenne last year in late May. They are all the same species, but females are copper and males dark irridescent blue-green.
The average maximum temperature for May is 19°C. This is the wettest month on average, with 62mm of rainfall being the norm. We should get more than 200 hours of sunshine.

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Fête des Plantes: The annual plant fair at the Horticultural College at Verneuil sur Indre is on Sunday 5 May. You can read our post about it from last year here. It's where I buy all my vegetable and bedding plant seedlings.