Flummer at Marie-Diane

Does November count as Autumn or Winter? I’m never quite sure, but it doesn’t really matter because I’ve decided to invent a new season for these months which will be called FLUMMER (Fabulous Late Summer).



This year we have been spoilt rotten because the weather has been almost consistently good, and now it is hard to believe that it’s nearly the end of November with bright blue skies and temperatures in the mid twenties – fabulous indeed!



Friends who own the Residence Marie-Diane had asked me to pop over and do some new ‘Flummer’ photos to show people how lovely it is to visit outside of the season. Rather than go just once a click away, I decided to at all different times of the day over a period of about 10-12 days so that I could really catch the essence of the place.



I was amazed at the variety of plants that were still in full bloom; hibiscus, geraniums, arbutus and bouganvillea to name but a few (and lots of others I don’t know the names of!).





The colours against the sky were amazing, especially the leaves. The pomegranate tree was one of my favourites with the yellow leaves and red stems against the clear blue skies – mother nature certainly knows her stuff where primary colours are concerned! The Figuier (fig tree) was also super pretty and I think ‘flummer’ is when this tree is at its most beautiful.

I’ve never really taken the time to wander through the pathways that link the houses and terraces within the grounds so I felt like I was in the secret garden.



Every time I turned a corner there was something interesting to see; terracotta urns, oddly shaped stones sculpted by the elements and of course olive pots filled with brightly coloured geraniums tumbling over the side.



I even came across an old stone water fountain with a sprig of rosemary and a marigold type flower sprouting through the cracks in the old brickwork.





In the summer, the grounds are still just as pretty, but everyone is so busy thinking about the pool and the beach that they don’t really the time to stop and smell the roses (pardon the pun!).



One of the highlights for me was the sunset on Monday night. The weather has been fabulous for about a week that we’ve been treated to the most amazing sunsets in all colours from deeps red, peach to almost purple.