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Lidl supermarket workers in France to strike on Thursdays - Sundays
Move to obligatory Sunday and public holiday shifts prompts calls for ‘unlimited’ protest action
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Is there any gardening work I cannot do in France on a bank holiday?
There are rules on times when certain outside work is permitted
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Vernet-les-Bains: France's only flourishing 'Village d’Arboretum'
Explore exotic trees, walking routes and local legends in this unique corner of the Pyrénees-Orientales
Grower’s digest – March 2020
Tips and tricks for gardeners indoors and out. This month: go potty for pots, March’s jobs, mud-free soles…..

Go potty for pots
Plant pots in all shapes and materials come and go in the gardening fashion stakes, but nothing says ‘French garden’ quite like a classically elegant urn shape.
Anduze is the best known brand of glazed planter but the Jarre Calypso by La Redoute (pictured above, back row, second from right) is a nice alternative.
It costs €249, is moulded in ‘aged’ terracotta, and measures 52x55cm.
Jobs for the potager
As the days get longer, planting season begins in earnest in March.
Salads can be sown indoors, aubergines and tomatoes can go under glass while vegetables such as swiss chard (bette à carde), beetroot (betterave), broad beans (fèves), peas (petits pois) and parsley (persil) can go outside.
Now is the time to buy and germinate potatoes, while in warmer climes of Southern France you can plant asparagus (asperges) and shallots (échalotes).
Mud-free soles
Innovations in horticulture come thick and fast: what could be more gardener-friendly than a welly with a sole that does not get logged up with mud?
That’s the claim of these self-cleaning boots with non-slip soles, key features of stylish two-tone Botte ‘Clean Lady’.
They also boast a Neoprene lining for excellent insulation, and are easy to put on thanks to a textile ‘tongue’ at the rear of the boot.
€54.90 from Gamm Vert.
Insta-jardins
Social media app Instagram is a brilliant way to enjoy other people’s gardens in France, with everyone from chateau visitors to chambre d’hôtes owners posting seasonal snaps and quirky updates from their gardens (users can search using the hashtag #jardins or #jardinage).
This month’s image captures winter sunlight playing on a Bayeux garden, as taken by aggarthibayeux (the Aggarthi guest house in the Calvados town)