"For the greatest joy of our visitors..."

The beautiful garden we visited on Saturday was the 'Jardin des Martels', which is to the north east of Toulouse, on the way towards Albi, more or less. Ben discovered it shortly after we arrived here - even though it's 45 minute's drive away it's a journey well worth making. But we've always been there in springtime before, and he had a real desire to see what it was like in early autumn. Thus, off we went, and it was such a rewarding visit. The garden website, which is a brilliant read in either French or English, mentions that: "The garden of Les Martels also has its garden centre which will allow you to buy the plant which will have charmed you during your visit…"

Well, we were charmed!

The tiny fairy rose, which I photographed in the garden on Saturday, was for sale in the garden shop. There was only one pot left - quick, hurry! I snapped it up and the plant is now settling into our poor, baked 'lawn' between some normal-sized roses.

The incredibly vibrant autumn colours also got me thinking.

The small, accacia-leaved twig seen here on the swimming-pool fence should grow up to become a tall bush which will dangle staggeringly orange bunches of flowers over the tops of the bright, self-seeding cosmos. That's the effect I'm hoping for, at least!

We loved this very strong red dahlia, and I'd been thinking I wanted some dahlias, and to cap it all, we felt that its beautifully British name (Bishop of Llandaff) made this plant a 'must'.

So here it is, beginning its life in our garden.

We're going to have to work on its company, poor thing. But it's a start.

The grasses at the jardin des Martels are a strong feature, and Ben is a big grasses man. He was aiming to come home with some grass to add to his collection, and got this one at the front. Boy, isn't our lawn dead? We won't waste water on it in the summer, although we are quite prepared to water our plants. A few more serious rain storms like the few we've had so far should bring it back to some kind of life, though...

I have to leave you with the words of the English-language version of the website, which brilliantly capture the enthusiasm you can feel goes into the garden:

j
"We still go on laying out the gardens by creating new clumps in bloom for the greatest joy of our visitors.
And new projects are bubbling up in our minds to share our passion with everyone."

j

That's certainly how it feels when you visit.