MAS de la PICOLETTE

Qu. Real Martin, F-83390 Puget-Ville, Var, Provence, south of France

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It's the garden that makes Mas de la Picolette such a special place for happy holidays with about five acres of lawns, shrubs and many unusual trees, bordered by the little river, the Réal Martin, and an additional Mill Stream, giving that glorious relaxing sound of running water at all times of day or night.  For those returning visitors, you'll remember that we used to water the lawns at night in the summer but have had to stop as it encouraged the wild boar, les sangliers, to enter the garden at night from the surrounding hills, and literally dig it up every time.  We had to stop providing this gourmet smörgåsbord for them, so the grass does lose its lushness in July and August - but then, we are in the south of France, not Surrey!  We've now opened up an additional area at the end of the garden - a rough terrain which little boys, particularly, love to explore and make dens in!

All in all, there's room to run around, shade in which to relax in comfort and of course masses of sunbathing space.  

The large pool (15 metres long x 6 metres wide - with pool alarm to comply with French regulations and for guests' safety) in the middle of the garden, away from the house, is next to the Summer Kitchen .... no one strays far from here we find! The Summer Kitchen has a large shady terrace with space for seating for about 20 (the table there seats 12 and we bring the table from outside the Main House down if we're a particularly large party) and a built-in BBQ. 

It's a "lived in" family garden - not a manicured hotel garden, and we do suggest guests wear flip flops or some sort of footwear whilst in the garden and around the pool as there are gravel and slightly uneven areas - and of course the usual wild-life that live naturally in rural France!

We have some toys and games for children and adults (badminton, table tennis, boules, cricket stumps, a sandpit, a swing now hidden in amongst our lovely fir tree - and 3 (rather ropey!) bikes for adults and 2 good bikes for small children.  Cycling into Pignans for the bread each morning is a joy - and means you can collapse by the pool for the rest of the day with no guilty conscience!  

Our vegetable garden and fruit trees are there for guests as well as us to enjoy.  Dependent on the season and the energies of the gardeners (us) and (unwelcome) activities of the sangliers who regularly invade French vege patches at night, we grow onions, garlic, beans, peppers, chillies, marrows, potatoes, lettuce, spinach .... the trees look after themselves and include figs, plums, cherries, apples, pomegranates etc.

The garden is bordered by the pretty, shady river the Real Martin.  We have some basic fishing kit and many an hour has been enjoyed by guests fishing for trout, river bass and eel - some more successfully than others!

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Site last updated on 18th April 2010