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Sue and her husband have transformed their French garden from a wilderness into a place of quiet beauty


about France and property on


frenchentree.com


Painting and planting A


sketchbook in one hand and the other dislodging a weed, each slowing down


the other... All I ever wanted to do was to paint, and gardening is an extension of that passion. I have a sense of completeness, of simple happiness, between studio and garden. The garden is a place of quiet beauty giving delight, satisfaction and repose as well as exercise to mind and body. Just as the paintings display my love of nature and who I am, so does the garden. My father studied


horticulture and continued his love of gardening throughout life. As a child I spent a lot of time with grandparents absorbing their enthusiasm and knowledge. My grandfather grew chrysanthemums; huge, perfect blooms for sale in fl ower shops. Each plant was rigidly tied to canes and


“We cleared the wild garden, built paths and retaining walls, a swimming pool and a vegetable plot”


regularly trimmed to achieve the supreme domed heads. This idealism didn’t appeal to me. The plants seemed infl exible, unbending held in their constraints, even if the results were fabulous. Somehow, they appeared more beautiful when cut and grouped together. More natural looking. Uncle Mick preferred to grow


tomatoes in the greenhouse. He taught me about their care and which were the sweetest. Grandmother loved roses. I have fond memories of them climbing around the window


80 FRENCH PROPERTY NEWS: March/April 2024


of my bedroom at their house. Hydrangeas, planted along the wall, were a wonderful blue colour due to the prodigious amount of tea leaves given to them each day. Everybody tended the fl ower garden full of sweet-smelling plants. I was so proud to bring my friends to this haven of delight. With each successive house


of my own, I have created a garden, often dealing with unkept scrub. When my husband and I moved to France to create a painting school, we renovated the house and


Gardener and artist Sue Goodman provides advice and inspiration to help you create your own dream French garden


cleared the wild garden, built paths and retaining walls, a herb garden, swimming pool and vegetable garden. Being south-facing and with the protection of the pool walls, the bananas fl owered and produced fruit, but the season was not long enough for them to ripen. However, the vegetables were also protected and faired well. While running the courses,


we bought a ruin with tumbledown walls, no roof and a garden full of rubble, rocks, stones and bramble. As the ruin wasn’t far from the main house, from time to time we were able to tame the garden, buying a little more ground and installing potting and tool sheds. We built a studio for me and a workshop for Paul, installed underfl oor heating, demolished broken-down outhouses, moved tons of rock,


© SUE GOODMAN


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