We were in France just a week ago too and, they are having as bad a time of the weather as we are. In fact it was the main news item in France - it was apparently 10 degrees colder than last year (which was hardly ideal) and some areas even had snow. We spent the weekend in the Champagne region avoiding showers/ torrential rain. The cold and the wet will have hit the wine trade hard and I assume other farmers will also be suffering.
The basil seedlings I put out have curled up and died in shock from the cold and I can't be bothered to sow more. I wonder if in 'normal' weather they could have coped outside - I'll try again next year.
There is still time to catch up which is good news for a friend who has just got allocated a plot after 6 years of waiting. the plot is overgrown with weeds and he is tackling it bit by bit. As his back is breaking under the work of clearing the plot, this is probably not a good time though for him to remember that he likes very few vegetables!
We took advantage of some dry weather to finally clear out the shed which was more than a dumping ground - more of a Bermuda triangle lurking in the garden. I feel much less guilty now and ready to start filling it up again now.
