Iris on a thatched roof help to keep it dry; a beautiful French cottage.

 
   
     
 



This is a Chaumiere (cottage) in the Forêt de Brotonne near Rouen in France. Traditionally the thatched roof is topped with a bed of clay where iris are planted. The roots, or rather rhizomes, of the iris help to mesh together the reed ends in the thatch and remove excess moisture from the ridge. Normandy chaumiere often have a flint foundation with half-timbered walls with torchis (French cob) on laths (wattle) as the infill.

   
           

The picture below is a close-up of iris in flower on the reed thatch of one of the buildings at Marie Antoinette's hamlet in Versailles, France.

 
           
         
 

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