L’Oasis bears fruit and Cherry Mania rules

Gone for a while are the days of lunchbreaks wandering down to Pret, grabbing a sandwich, a juice and sitting on a busy kerbside, watching the world go by.

Days start earlier here, normally with a swim in the lake and yoga or simply a walk with the dogs and a fresh croissant from the bakery. I feel more productive here as creativity comes more easily and I can plan my own day. I adore that I have an extra hour in the morning before the UK wakes to working life and I trust my team to manage their time. With regular trips back to the UK to see clients and family, a working rhythm is slowly building.

My father was a great gardener and my new home was owned and loved by the market gardeners of the village so I feel I have a legacy to uphold. Some of my most vivid childhood memories were of the fresh, organic vegetables.

It took a lot of work and courage to change things around with the limited resources I had and create a bright new future. It took a lot of courage to change. I can also see more change and further opportunities on the horizon. My coaching has helped me take each step along the way and also process the inevitable challenges that came up along the way and find a positive in what could initially be deemed as a negative.

And then came the cherries. Four large trees full of cherries. There’s still two trees with a fairly healthy amount left although after 2 batches of cherry jam, three picking parties with friends, compote, frozen whole cherries and a dehydrator full, the only cherries being picked are to eat fresh from the tree.

It is the first large harvest of the walled garden and there are many more to come. There are prolific fig trees, the garden is teeming with vegetables, there are huge amounts of young olives on the olive trees, a persimmon tree, apricot, pear and green gauge. The first large project for L’Oasis is an orchard being planted in November. We hope that L’Oasis will bear fruits of many kinds for years to come.