The monastery near the Roman-Gaulish ruins had a beautiful garden we explored.
It was large and diverse, with large rose beds first, and tall trellises for climbing roses. There were so many lovely colors and shapes, including a violet rose.
Beyond this were the most beautiful flower beds planted according to color in geometric patterns. The flowers had grown together into a colorful mixture, looking at first rambling but when regarded more carefully the colors meshed together in layers of patterns and textures like a Persian carpet.
The patterns were actually quite simple. The first rows tended to have a pattern of 4 different flowers, the second row 3 that grew taller, the center had the tallest plants in a pattern of 2 or 3. One could easily design it on graph paper.
There were so many different plants in just one bed. I saw zinnias, marigolds, sage, tufted grasses, kale and silvery leafed cardoon, statice and begonias. Around the beds was simply mown to control weeds, but a little clover and oxalis had crept in with the flowers without interrupting the patterns.
The other half of the garden was a short lawn that led down to a view of Nice, planted with orange trees, pomegranates and shady lindens.
There was beautiful stone work, and down several steps a classic French hedge garden with fountains, and cardoon blooming between the shrubs.
fter the dirty, busy city it was a beautiful moment of peace to pause here.
Toadstools And Fairy Rings 
Mission gardens (here) that were developed by the Spanish, partly abandoned during the Mexican Period, and then renovated during the American Period, were found to contain a few of the original undocumented cultivars of fruit that were imported from Spain. Some were given the same common cultivar name of ‘Mission’. ‘Mission’ olive became the most common oil olive in California. ‘Mission’ fig is the most popular black fig in home gardens. No one knows where they came from; if they were imported directly, or developed locally. The Spanish like to take credit for importing the ‘Mission’ fig. We Californians like to take credit for it because it grew as a naturalized seedling at the Mission of San Diego (de Alcala). Mexicans like to take credit for it because the original tree was old enough when discovered to have grow there while San Diego was still part of Mexico. It gets confusing but amusing.
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Everyone wants to take credit for it! Well it is a good fig. Thanks so much for sharing!
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I don’t want to take credit for it. I just want to grow it. (Although there are already several other figs out there with it that are more important.)
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Lol, I think it’s even one that can stand growing in Florida.
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Well, it has been happy in San Diego for a long time, so it is not like it needs a good winter chill or such.
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