Springtime in France: When Daffodils Bloom & Dogs Rule

Spring has finally arrived in Beth’s corner of southwest France, bringing golden jonquils, teenage dog antics, and the wisdom of an older dog. Springtime is all about renewal, from daffodils and primevères emerging to gardens and forests coming to life after a long, cold, wet winter.

“With freshly laundered blue skies and afternoons nudging 21℃, spring has arrived in our little corner of France, and one member of our family is having a ball!

Spring has Sprung in Southwest France

Caesar, our Australian Shepherd, is a teenager, and as you might guess, he’s approaching the new season with ridiculous enthusiasm. Every scent is thrilling, every rustle in the undergrowth a potential best pal, and every plant… apparently edible. This theory is tested daily, often with dreadful consequences.

Sadly, Max, his long-suffering older brother, is no help whatsoever.

Springtime Calm & Canine Chaos

Now fourteen, Max has perfected the art of dignified retirement. Where Caesar careers through life like a furry cannonball, Max strolls along behind, observing the chaos with the indulgent air of a headmaster who has seen it all before. I swear he smiles at his sibling’s antics.

Jonquilles: A Triumphant Beginning

Among the early garden plants to show are our jonquilles – daffodils. The name for these smiley yellow trumpets comes from the Spanish junquillo, ‘little rush’, a reference to their slender leaves. They’ve long been linked to luck and renewal, and I love them. Tradition has it that spotting your first daffodils brings prosperity, though not a single bloom. So, if you’re cutting them for a vase, it’s best to gather a generous handful.

Our daffs began appearing just after Christmas, followed by muscari with their tiny grape-like flowers, primroses, and the scented hyacinths. They’re fading now, but that’s fine. Tulips are bursting out of the ground as I write. 

Forest Renewal Time

There’s plenty to do in the garden and potager at this time of year, but our daily dog walk – or gallop, in Caesar’s case is sacrosanct. The forest is an obvious choice, where our ebullient youngster instantly charges off down the tracks in pursuit of nothing at all, while Max ambles peacefully by my side.

Primevères and Fairies

Clumps of primroses, primevères, still garnish the woodland fringes, their soft yellow flowers visible among the greenery. From the Latin prima vera, ‘early spring’, they’ve long been linked to new beginnings and, in folklore, as doorways into fairy realms.

Above, I can almost hear the trees yawning after their winter repose, stretching as new buds appear on branches, gradually unfurling into leaflets. Birds chatter busily amongst the emerging foliage, and if we’re lucky, we might glimpse a wild boar mum shepherding her stripy piglets through the undergrowth. These are the moments when I stand very still, a mixture of rapture and mild panic, hoping Caesar hasn’t noticed them.

 
Pretty much everywhere I look, damp warmth has stimulated fungi to rise from fallen trunks, their weird and wonderful forms lifting through moss and leaf litter – a vivid counterpoint to spring’s fresh greens.

Beautiful Pervenches

At this time of year, the forest floor is threaded with pervenches – periwinkle plants whose starry blue and violet flowers form soft carpets among last year’s leaves. Long used in traditional remedies, they were once believed to ward off ailments, both physical and supernatural. Today, extracts of Vinca minor are still studied for their effects on circulation and cognition. Enjoying their colour is enough for us.

I recently learned that the French use the name differently. Les pervenches is an old-fashioned slang term for Parisian parking wardens, named for their blue uniforms. I think that’s fun…

I usually return from these walks with two soaking dogs, Caesar proudly carrying something unspeakable. Currently, he has a particular yen for excavating ancient bones. Why? No idea.

Fields, Deer… and Futility

Our early‑morning walks include a tour of the dogs’ favourite field, now becoming a riot of colour, festooned with daisies. Dandelions are appearing, too. The ever‑practical French have an apt term for the plant: pissenlits, ‘wet the bed’, based on medieval herbalists’ discovery of its diuretic properties. Truly, nobody wants to drink dandelion juice just before bedtime.

Wildlife encounters here are frequent and, for Caesar, deeply frustrating. Roe deer graze calmly until he gives chase, at which point they bound elegantly back to their woodland sanctuary. Hares take a more mischievous approach, zigzagging across the field and occasionally pausing, waiting for him to catch up. Of course, he never does, and eventually returns, worn out and a bit huffy.

Hidden Hazards of the Aubépine 

The long hawthorn hedge – aubépine is in full bloom and looks glorious with its frothy white flowers. They’ll soon fall like confetti. From the Latin alba spina, ‘white thorn’, this plant carries a long history of symbolism, from love and protection to cautionary tales about bringing cut limbs indoors. I’m not sure about the folklore elements, but I do know that a splinter from one of these plants is very sore!

Garden Sundowners

The end of the day is always heavenly during these sunny spells. If time allows, we relax in the garden and chat through the day’s jobs with a drink while ‘Kid’ Caesar, finally exhausted, usually covered in mud, collapses in a puddle of sunshine alongside his snoozy brother.

Our entertainment is the chorale of lovesick frogs, out-croaking one another in the moat. Ducks, nesting now, take time off to glide past in a stately flotilla, and from hidden nests high in the trees come the chirps of hungry chicks. Spring really has arrived in our rural French nook: noisy, stunning, and bursting with life. A bit like Caesar, really.”

 
A heartfelt thank you to Beth for sharing another charming slice of life from southwest France, where spring blossoms and canine antics keep us all smiling. If you enjoy her stories of Caesar, Max, and the wildness of her domaine, don’t miss her latest book, “Beyond the Forest Fringe. It’s a must-read for anyone who loves animals, nature, and the quirks of rural life in France.

And if you’re a pet lover in France, learn about pet insurance, because even the most dignified dogs (and the most chaotic teenagers!) deserve the best care. If you’re attracted or intrigued by this lifestyle in this beautiful country, check out our guides and articles, and feel free to register to share your plans and receive our monthly newsletters.

Until next time, à bientôt!