A few years ago, when a neighbor was dividing her garden and offered me some plants, I was a little hesitant to accept. My record on keeping house plants alive was pretty dismal at best. So much so that the only greenery I had in my house were preserved boxwoods.
But the plants were free, and I had always wanted to try gardening, so I accepted the offer. My first try was not perfect, but I learned a lot from the experience and have since started two more small gardens around my house.
As my knowledge of gardening grew through reading and You Tube videos, I fell in love with the romantic and wild look of cottage gardens. I thought about creating my own cottage garden, but we really did not have a spot for it, so I put it on the back burner.
Fast forward after having an addition/renovation done on our home over a year ago, we now have a perfect place for my cottage garden. The area is 13×13 and is nestled right against the house. I had to wait the entire winter to get started, but now I am ready!
The first step was to roto till the area and add garden soil with fertilizer. I don’t have any pictures of using the roto tiller, but it was a blast to use!
After a week, l couldn’t wait any longer to get started, so Sunday at 7:30 in the morning I went to work (now you have the answer to why I named my blog Impulsively Creative).
I wanted some kind of statement piece for the center of the garden. I spotted the bird bath all the way in the back of the yard.
It was too heavy to lift so I laid the base on its side and started to roll it. Then went back and did the same with the top.
As I was rolling the birdbath on my hands and knees across the lawn, I am thinking about our new next-door neighbors who I have not met yet and wondered if they were up that early and seeing me doing my thing, wondering what they may have gotten themselves into.
Also on the other side of the yard were some left over pavers. I thought they would work to create a pathway to the birdbath. For these I was able to use the wagon to transport them to the garden.
I dug out the area around the pavers to make them flush with the ground.
Next, I wanted something that would define the entrance to the garden. I had two large planters with boxwood in them on the patio. I rolled them over and added wrought iron cloches I purchased at Brimfield.
At this point, I was loving the way it was looking and wished someone would wake up so I could show them!
After three hours I was finished and definitely needed a shower.
Later that day, we went to Wayside Garden Center in Macedon NY for flowers.
I purchased Russian Sage, Black Eyed Susans, Cone Flowers, Sedum, Coral Bells, and Alyssum.
I placed three Russian Sage in the back, two Black Eyed Susans in between, then Cone Flowers, Sedum and Alyssum around the birdbath.
If you are a gardener, I would love any tips you may have for me. I am an amateur and would welcome any help you want to give!
I also plan on dividing plants from my front garden and adding to the back.
I am looking forward to sharing my progress in the coming weeks!
impulsivelycreative.com 