Gardening on a French hillside...

I have a small holiday house in France (100 km inland from La Rochelle). It has about 1000 sq m of 'garden' - currently largely meadow. It is a hilltop site on somewhat sticky limestone soil (not much depth ~ 50cm to rock).

Climate is quite good... rarely below -5 deg C in winter, fairly dry in the summer. Wet late autumn and early spring.
There are two enormous fig trees in in two corners of the garden.

Have a solar powered automatic watering system that can handle 6 lines (but don't want them to be using too much water!!).

Would love some suggestions for plants that might thrive in such conditions.

Mike

hi mike,
I don't have any suggestions, your soil conditions are very opposite of mine, but your place sounds beautiful. (I just had to comment) :0) I hope someone can help you.

Are you wanting to grow ornamentals or edibles...or a combination of both?

Your soil sounds like what they have in the Eastern part of our state. Lots of limestone/clay type soil and very shallow depth to rock. Mine is more loamy clay with a red gravel base...as my area was once part of the Gulf of Mexico instead of the Atlantic Ocean millions of years ago.

What they do is make raised beds. They bring in stable cleanings, straw,peat moss, leaves and other amendments to mix with what is there and mound them up. They either let the mounds sit on the ground, or contained with stones or wood. This way, they can customize the mix in each bed for whatever the needs of the plants are.

It sounds like you have a wonderful place, and are very lucky. Most of our European friends are always wanting a bigger place to garden.

The climate sounds wonderful too. Most anything will thrive.There's enough cold for flowering bulbs to do well and apple trees to produce, yet not arctic cold. I'd have to do a small fruit orchard...you have the figs already.Maybe apples and peaches? Lilacs,tulips, iris and lilies....maybe some veggies..tomatoes,cucumbers, eggplant, lettuce, squash.

Hope these suggestions help...just remember to amend your siol to the needs of the plant, and you should be able to grow about anything.

Thanks for the encouragement. Will have a veg plot (potager is what the French call them) and there are already some damson trees on the site (but they are not well sited). Had figured maybe some kind of raised bed might be a good idea, but can't do that for 1000 sq m!!! :o]
Am going to construct a large (~30 sq m) rock garden - no problem getting the rocks - just dig!!!
Thought someone might suggest a few tolerant alpines...
My main interest is in herbaceous perennials and climbers, but I want to raise some shrubs to give extra height as well.

My dream is to grow a Magnolia campbellii (Giant Himalayan Tulip Tree) from seed and flower it before I die(!!) but the only seeds I have been able to get haven't germinated after two years of trying...

Mike