At this time of year, the garden has really taken off – it’s lush and new flowers are appearing every day. If you recall, I left as the peonies were in bloom, the catalpa trees had yet to bloom, the catmint was showing very pale lavender flowers, the spirea was about to bloom and the rose bushes had buds.
Now, the catmint is full of vivid lavender flowers, the Annabelle hydrangea is in full bloom, all of the roses are blooming, the peonies have left for another year, the catalpa flowers came and went while I was away, as did the spirea. Day Lilies are blooming, the crown vetch is full of flowers, the bee balm has flowered.
Love the flowers on the Crown Vetch – they remind me of clover.
After eight summers here at the cottage, armed with a lot of patience and a willingness to do it slowly, plant by plant, the perennial gardens I created more than pay me back every year.
We moved into the cottage at the end of August in 2005, so, except for planting the boxwoods, we didn’t do any gardening. In the spring of 2006, I started planting the big garden bed, for that’s all there really was here. There were a few hostas near the house, some sedum in the big garden bed, the peonies, the flowering quince and the bridal veil spirea. Everything else was added over the course of 8 years. And I really haven’t added much at all in the past 3 years.
I added two beds at the side of the house as well as the beds in front of the shed. I added the Chicken Wire Fence Garden. And the lilac. I added the bed in front of the porch where the boxwoods live, along with a hydrangea and a rose bush.
All of this was done slowly, as time and budget would allow. Some years, I could only afford to add a few plants.
Building a perennial garden takes patience.
You have to be willing to see the possibilities, to know that it will pay off in the end.
I wanted lush, densely-planted cottage gardens. And now, eight years later, that’s what I’ve got.
I’m not a gardener who uses annuals very much, though my hanging plants and the plants in the galvanized tub on the funky patio are annuals. Most of the plants that are in pots and planters are annuals. As are the impatiens….but I overwintered them and they rebloomed this year (so happy about that!), so I’m going to call them perennials. Or maybe biennials – we’ll have to see how they do this winter. I did use annuals as filler in the early days of the gardens, but now I don’t have to.
Isn’t that wonderful?
Every year, my gardens come back, fuller and more lush than ever. Like old friends who come back every season for a long visit, so do my perennials. I have to do very little at this point except weed. I did a lot of that yesterday and my allergies are screaming in protest. But that’s to be expected after two and a half weeks away at this time of year.
If you’re just starting a garden and you have the space and the time and the patience, consider planting a perennial garden. You don’t need to spend a lot of money.
You just need a few plants.
You don’t need to hire a landscaper or gardening professional.
You just need to be willing to take a leap, to experiment, to build the gardening dream that you see in your mind’s eye. Just as I have no desire to have a decorator ‘do’ my home, I don’t want another gardener to ‘do’ my garden.
Where is the fun in that?
Believe me, it is so worth it in the end. These beauties bloom for weeks and attract butterflies and bees and hummingbirds. In some cases, as with my coneflowers and morning glories and sedum and yarrow, they reseed. What a delightful surprise it is to discover a volunteer plant coming up elsewhere in the garden or on the property.
They love to perform.
And you get to experience the enormous pleasure that comes with tending and nurturing your garden. Just as you tend and nuture and love a child, the same goes for a perennial garden. Eventually, you reach that day when you can let your ‘child’ fly, when you can trust that the child will be just fine on his own.
My babies are just fine on their own. They might need a trim here and there, they may need more space. That comes with parenting, don’t you think?
Sincerely,
The proud mama of many children, currently doing just fine on their own.
Claudia, After that harsh winter we had, aren’t you thrilled to see your flowers? I am. I love the roses you have and that red spiky flower is beautiful. Gardening is a chore at times. but once you get it whipped into shape things seem to be easier, if you stay on top of it. I have always gardened by trial and error. Some times it is a lot of error… as to getting just the right spot for things that love sun , or shade. Blessings to you, xoxo,Susie
Absolutely thrilled, Susie. Blessings to you, too!
Gardening definitely teaches patience. Also, since we are somewhat at the mercy of nature, some years are better than others. All last winter the farmers in our area were telling us how good the heavy cover of snow would be for the plants in the spring, and I believe they were right. Two years ago we had an infestation of Japanese beetles in our yard which ate through most leaves of our trees and plants, and this year we haven’t seen any at all (knocking on all things wooden!!). We never know what the season will bring. We took down a black walnut tree in our yard this spring and my garden is thanking us profusely with more zucchini, cukes, and tomatoes than I have had in many many years. They simply can’t “co-habitate” happily. I plan to enjoy each and every day and appreciate with joy ~ each bud on every flower as they bloom. After last winter I think my appreciation of the growing season has increased more than ever and I want to savor each remaining day until we are bringing in the geraniums to winter over once again. And I hope that day is a log way down the garden path!! :-)
I so agree, Chris. It was a long time coming and I want to enjoy every minute of it!
I love the Bee Balm..they look like little fireworks..mine haven’t bloomed yet..everything looks beautiful!
Thank you so much, Nancy!
Claudia, I have one word for your flower photographs:
LUSH
Ah, thank you so much!
I love your gardens. I live vicariously through them. Mine are mostly weeds, which I try unsuccessfully to get rid of, a couple of rose bushes and azaleas. Gardening is not my thing!
Well, I sure have a lot of weeds, too!
Your gardens are gorgeous! And, as any proud mama would tell you…you done good! After the harsh winter we had, I’m certainly appreciating all of my blooms this year…both perennial and annual. Not the weeds so much, however! We’ve had a considerable amount of rain lately…which always helps. Enjoy this beautiful day…it’s a great day to garden! ;)
It is. Although it got awfully humid here today!
Beautiful photos. I need to add a few more things to my garden, but like you I hate to spend a ton of money. I normally trade with friends or divide when they get out of control. Pinning!!
I wish I had someone to trade with here! Too bad we live so far away from each other, Dawn!
So right, Claudia. I don’t know how some folks can hand over the decoration of their homes entirely to professionals. The real joy of creating and keeping a home is in the memories of how you came to have all the things that make up your home. Things you bought or were given as gifts or made. Things that took years to collect. I’m working on my laptop at my dining room table right now, and a few feet away in the corner is a little farmhouse table that had been my mother’s. My mom loved to poke around at flea markets and garage sales. She never bought a lot but she loved to look, and did end up finding some really great things on occasion. Always something useful though, and always something attractive. Anyway, she stripped this little table [just big enough for a lamp and a phone and a flower arrangement] and I spent a whole summer of Saturdays sanding it in Mom & Dad’s backyard. For some reason, I just love to sand wood [a friend tells me I was probably a carpenter or cabinetmaker in a past life]. Maybe it’s true because believe me, this little table was as smooth as a baby’s bottom when I finished. I loved those afternoons, out in the fresh air for hours, just gazing at our neighbor’s growing wheat fields, thinking. No radio, no iPod or Walkman either. Just quiet thinking time [there’s a lot to be said for Silence]. Then Mom treated the tabletop with Danish oil and painted the legs and single drawer white. We had a glass topper made for it and she used this for years in her upstairs hallway. When we were dividing up my parents’ household after she died, this little table was one thing I just had to have. And I wouldn’t have the wonderful memories I have if some designer had picked it out…
Absolutely, Janet. What we use in our homes should have a story, a memory. We don’t get that with a decorator’s choices – however pretty they are.
Your flowers are just beautiful! I have tried to have most of my plants be ones that come back yearly and then I just add annuals for more color yearly. Glad you are home – I know Don and Scout are enjoy your time with them.
Judy
I was so exhausted when I got home that I was really edgy yesterday. Thankfully, I got a good night’s rest last night, Judy, and I’m feeling better.
Your garden looks wonderful..Beautiful colors..The weeds have really taken off this year..Everything is growing!! I’ll bet Scout and Don are glad to have you home..
I’ve never seen the weeds this bad, Missy!
I love a cottage garden like yours. I can’t grow anything. I have tried. I do well with fairy gardens……I know they aren’t your favorite. Hey, what did you get in the Club Little House swap. Wasn’t it fun opening up your package.
Oh, I never said I didn’t like them….I just run into posts about them a bit too often, that’s all!
Beautiful gardens. Enjoy being home. Doris
Thank you, Doris. I am.
Your cottage garden is lovely. Very much like my own. :)
Do you have a veggie garden as well? I don’t remember reading about one, but was just sure you would have one, especially since you’re a vegetarian. I am too, and I live for the bounties of my veggie and fruit gardens each season. It is so good!!
I don’t. I would love a veggie garden but until I can build a tall fence (and I can’t afford that right now) I will hold off. Deer are everywhere here and I love them, but I know they would eat everything. As would the bunnies!
Your garden looks lovely & I love your bee-balm!
The bee balm is pretty striking, isn’t it?
I love the look of the cottage garden and yours is gorgeous. I like that you let it grow and added to it as you could. I am thinking if I’m going to be in my duplex long term I might add a small flower area to my back yard! Thanks for always inspiring me.
hugs, Linda
I think you should do that, Linda! It would be so rewarding for you – to have your own little flower garden. Maybe even some raised beds?