Tag: cottage garden

Mini-garden project

I’ve had my eye on a spot in the front yard that gets a fair amount of sun, enough that I was tempted to try planting some sun-loving perennials. Most of our yard is far too shady for those (although we try; we still try).

Also, I thought the clump of hostas looked lonely.

Garden bed staked out
Garden bed with sheet mulch
Garden bed with fresh compost
Flower bed planted with perennials.

And one week later:

Garden bed with blooming purple and pink flowers

Once upon a time, those lonely hostas weren’t so lonely. The hosta beds lined the entire driveway on the left-hand side. Over the years, the soil compacted and wear and tear took their toll.

For my next project, I’m thinking of using the sheet-mulch method to line the area between this clump of hostas and the ones in the front of the house. The local garden center has some lovely spotted dead-nettle that might work nicely in that in-between space. It’s shady enough under the trees for it to be happy and sunny enough in the yard that it shouldn’t take over the entire space.

We’ll see how much energy I have for that.

In writing news, I completed what I wanted to on Rose’s portion for The Rose Rebellion, and now I’m moving on to The Marigold Miracle. I had one of those shower epiphanies this week on how to revise the opening, and I’m excited to dive in.

This and that

Garden this and that, in no particular order:

  • A buck has been skulking down by the pond, aggravating the dogs every time we go outside.
  • Relatedly, someone with hooves investigated the herb garden last night. They devoured one of the volunteer lettuces.
  • They left the herbs and marigolds alone. Since I don’t like lettuce, this is fine.
  • They also nibbled on the phlox and decided, like last year, it doesn’t taste all that great.
  • They left the newly planted blackberry bush alone.

Writing this and that:

15,000 words in Rose’s POV for The Rose Rebellion. I’m glad I listened to my intuition and didn’t dive into editing The Marigold Miracle. Several things came up this week that I need for that. So, for now, the printout of The Marigold Miracle will continue to sit on my desk, waiting patiently. 

Some garden pics:

Cottage garden in early spring

Current state of the cottage garden. Try to ignore the recycling bins and the Boler that needs a power wash.

Two white and pink peonies

The peonies, back for an encore.

Whimsy in the garden

Stone hedgehog and rain gauge by hosta plants.

Whimsy is maybe the watchword for the garden this year. Above is a stone hedgehog that used to live in my mother’s garden, along with a dachshund rain gauge. After all, if you’re going to have a rain gauge in your garden, make it a dachshund one.

Some things we’re trying:

  • An old-fashioned herb garden in the raised beds (inspired by a chapter in The Northern Gardener by Mary Lahr Schier).
  • A blackberry bush (we’ll see if it takes)
  • Carving out a few more corners for cottage-like pollinator gardens.
  • Possibly reclaiming a stretch of the lawn by the pond and returning it to native grasses and plants (this is ambitious, and I’m not sure it will happen this year).

I took some photos, but it’s cloudy today (you can tell that in the photo above). Everything looks rather dull, so I decided to hold off on sharing any more pictures for now.

And while I’ve been out lugging mulch and compost around (lots and lots of lugging), I’ve been writing. How, you ask.

Well, technically, not writing. I’ve been using text-to-speech to listen to The Pansy Paradox. I need that in my head as I revise book two and look forward to book three. Listening while working in the garden has been surprisingly enjoyable.

Garden wrap-up

I’ve been feeling a bit deflated about the garden this year. Between the long stretches of rain, heat domes, and the air quality, I wasn’t outside working as much as I wanted to be.

Even so? I did plant my cottage garden this year. And it was mostly successful! It’s a bit bedraggled now, thanks to a recent hailstorm, but look at this last lovely gift:

The pretty purple and yellow asters in the cottage garden.

The asters I planted came in strong. Also? They are apparently Vikings fans. (We almost always almost win.)

Another thing I’ve noticed this year is the increase in pollinators and beneficial bugs in the yard. Actual ladybugs! Butterflies, including Monarchs (which I haven’t seen for a couple of years), and, of course, many, many of our native bees.

It’s still so mild that yesterday, my daughter and I took a tour of the yard and—with the pollinators in mind—did some planning for next year. There are some excellent spots near the pond where invasive weeds are growing. We’re going to put down some cardboard and tarp now, so in the spring, we can plant a variety of native wildflowers—and add some milkweed to the mix for those Monarchs.

Our city offers a comprehensive Planting for Pollinators program, which allows you to purchase native seeds by growing area (e.g., dry/wet, partial shade/full sun). And who knows, we might tackle the buckthorn while we’re at it.

So while not everything turned out (my wall of morning glories for the hummingbirds never materialized), all in all, it was a good year for gardening.