Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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A Chicken Wire Fence Garden

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I have two posts up today. Scroll down for my book review – it’s a great book and I’m giving away a copy.

Earlier this summer, I decided to add a narrow bed in front of the dog corral. Those of you who are long-time readers know that the dog corral is made out of chicken wire fencing. It does its job, but let’s face it, it’s none too attractive. I thought adding a few plants grown from seed might add a bit of beauty to an otherwise blah area. I got this idea late in the spring, so my plants have begun to bloom only in the last few weeks. Sort of nice, this late-blooming garden.

I planted zinnia and sunflower seeds. If you read this post, you’ll remember that, instead of sunflowers, I was getting zinnias and hyacinth bean vines. Go figure.

Here is my funky little plot. You know what? It does disguise that chicken wire rather nicely.

 Aren’t zinnias amazing? Big white petals, with little yellow flowers in the center.

Brenda, these are for you. I know you miss seeing your zinnias.

 Each one is unique.

But wait, what do I see?

That’s no zinnia. That, my friends, is sunflower! And darned if there aren’t two of them.

We’re so excited! We’re finally going to have some sunflowers. Don keeps checking on them every day.

Thank you to everyone who keeps checking in on me. We’re doing as well as can be expected. Scout is having a very hard time, so we are spoiling her and doing everything we can to help cope with this change. I can be fine for several hours and then lose it, like I did last night. The minute I hit the pillow I started crying. It’s hard for me to drive by the animal hospital and, since it’s on the road into town, I have to. I just look away. We’re okay, though.

A reminder about Saturday’s new meme/party: A Favorite Thing. This whole idea grew out of this post, where I shared my great-grandmother’s syrup jug. That led me to ponder the idea of a weekly party where we all can share a favorite thing. It could be an antique, a vintage find, a favorite piece of furniture, a garden, an appliance, a book, a film, a CD, a tree, a place, a car- you name it. It just has to be a true favorite thing. That’s all. This will be a weekly party, taking place on Saturday. But I will put up the post on Friday night, with the links available, so that you have extra time to post if your weekend is particularly busy.

I think it will be lots of fun and goodness knows, we can all use some fun.

Happy Wednesday.

P.S. The Etsy shop is open again!

Why I Love Having a Perennial Garden

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This is our second day of rain. Much needed, so I’m not complaining, however I really can’t do any work in the garden. But I can share some thoughts on perennial gardening.
 

 

The California Poppy has really taken off this year.

 

Though I plant a few annuals – mostly in pots on the porch – I really concentrate on perennials. Annuals are great fillers, especially when you are first establishing a garden, but perennials are with you for the long haul.

 

When we first moved here, the big garden bed, and it’s really big, was pretty bare. It had been established, but very few things had been planted. There was a hosta or two, some sedum “Autumn Joy”, daffodils and a bush. In addition, there were two peony bushes down by the road, a wiegela near the shed,  and a lone yellow tulip by the porch. And lots and lots of trees. Since we moved in at the end of August, I decided to hold off on the garden until the following year. The only thing we added that first year was a new garden bed in front of the porch where we planted 4 boxwoods.

 

Slowly but surely that next spring, I started to add perennials to the garden bed. As you know, I am on a very limited budget ( I think it was a bit less limited in those days, but nevertheless, limited.) I had to be selective about what I added. Some plants took, others did not. I had to learn about our soil, amend it, do lots of research and be willing to experiment.

 

 

Since I was on a budget, I added only a small amount of plants each year, starting in the spring of 2006. Patience was my watchword. You need patience when you are establishing a perennial garden because it takes a while for the plants to take off. No instant gardens for me. No landscape designer filling in my garden beds in the blink of an eye. No, I wanted to design my beds. Slow and steady wins the race.

 

Now, in the spring of 2012, I am bowled over by how big and full all of the plants are. I’m amazed at the poppy, for example, a plant I haven’t seen bloom in its full glory for 4 years. Wow. It’s huge. It has lots and lots of buds that will soon burst forth in a gorgeous shade of reddish orange. I planted it at least 4 years ago. It took time to reach this size. The catmints are unbelievably full and gorgeous. The bee balm multiplies every year. As do the coneflowers. And the David phlox. The ground covers spread a bit more each year.

 

 

And they all come back. That’s what perennials do. They come back, year after year. They hunker down in your soil, spread their roots, and decide to make a return visit every year. Each new spring, I am filled with awe at the miracle of rebirth. My plants have become my children. Truly. Just as you watch your children grow, the same holds true for your perennial garden. It doesn’t sprout up overnight. Good food, nourishment, water and lots of love help to build a healthy, long-term garden.

 

Annuals are temporary. They’re perfect for my porch pots (impatiens) and window boxes. They nicely fill in my barrels. My hanging plants are annuals. But the garden beds are filled with perennials.

 

 

Since that first summer in 2006, I have added two more beds. I expanded the bed in front of the house (where the boxwoods are) and added a hyacinth, russian sage and a rose bush. The next bed is just around the corner of the porch and it has my (now huge) hydrangea, two rose bushes, a spirea and some coneflowers. The most recent addition was put in last year – another bed that expands upon the hydrangea bed. It’s a bit bare – I will add more plants as time and budget allow. But remember, patience is a virtue in perennial gardening. It’s about the process. You have to be willing to wait as your garden evolves.

 

 

The area around the porch that you see in the above photo was completely bare when we moved in. Just grass. Now, I have a flourishing cottage garden that adds to the charm of this old house.

 

And, oh my, it was worth the wait.

 

Hello garden!

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Two days at home = two days of mowing. I’m exhausted. And mowing the front yard is extra hard as we have ruts from all the work on the tree and the septic system. No time to work in the garden, but next weekend I am determined to weed and plant my pots and window boxes. It’s been very cold here at night lately but the week ahead promises warmer weather, so it should be okay for planting my impatiens next weekend.

I’m going back to Hartford to rest!

The garden is starting to fill in – lots of green but not too many flowers yet. I missed the bloom of the yellow daffodils, but I didn’t miss the bloom of my favorite daffodils:

They were already here when we moved in. I didn’t know about them until the following spring and I was entranced.

To tell you the truth, yellow daffodils have never done a whole lot for me but these make my heart sing.

The lilacs are blooming. Oh my goodness, what a glorious scent! My little bush is hanging in there but it only has a few blooms. Anyone know the secret to more blooms? Should I prune it after the bloom is finished? I haven’t been home at this time of year for the last 4 years, so this year I can tackle things like that.

Oh, and look what’s coming!

My peonies are budding! For those of you who are new to this blog, peonies are my absolute favorite flower. I. love. them. This cottage came with two peony bushes that are planted close to the road. I treasure them. And I haven’t been home to see them for 4 years! Yes, I know I’m away in Hartford right now, but I can get home for visits! It makes a huge difference in my life. My garden is my favorite place. Gardening is good for my soul. I find peace there.

So here’s to spring at home, here at Mockingbird Hill Cottage!

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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