Happy for Rain

I’m sure few people building a house are pleased to see rain forecast. Rain on building sites tends to mean delays. I’m not hoping for rain, but when I checked the weather forecast and saw a few showery days ahead for Vichy, I smiled.

We scattered wildflower seeds on some of the exposed soil during our visit last week. We had no tools to plant them properly, and we won’t be around to tend them. We have to leave the rest to nature, but a little bit of rain to water them in has to be a good thing.

The builders cleared the vegetation from about half the site. They needed to; it was an impenetrable jungle of nettles, blackberries, and other things that sting and spike. The areas nearest the house are regularly trafficked by the builders, but the areas further up the driveway seem to be mostly left undisturbed now. The grass and other plants are starting to repopulate it, but there is still a lot of bare earth. We thought some wildflower seed mix might help preserve our soil, and if we are lucky, keep some of the nettles at bay.

I’m not sure what to expect from our wildflowers. The packet was wonderfully vague - 25 varieties suitable for limiting weeds on difficult terrain, and a pretty picture of some white and yellow flowers. Time will tell what we end up with.

The seeds were also symbolic. It is our first tiny step towards creating a garden and claiming that land as our own, with all the hard work, pleasure, and responsibility that comes with it. Perhaps we may live to regret the seeds when we come to really plant the garden, though we’ll never know which ones came from the seed packet and which ones arrived on their own. Whatever happens, scattering those seeds will always be the first thing we ever did in our garden, and I hope they grow.

Watch the video for this visit.