Showing posts with label garden design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden design. Show all posts

Monday, December 9, 2019

Small Garden w/ Greenhouse + Washing Maching Update

This small but mighty garden is so special. There is something to oooh and ahhh over everywhere you rest your eyes. I cannot believe there is even a sizable greenhouse behind the dahlias. A tall wooden privacy fence, assorted picket fences, pea gravel paths, raised beds herbs, flowers, lawn brick patio, etc. Too many amenities to list! Swoon. Found here.

Washing Machine Update: I washed two woolen sweaters by hand in the kitchen sink this morning. It was quick work and I folded them somewhat and took them downstairs to my laundry room and put them soaking wet in my new Maytag washer. I set the dial to "drain and spin" and walked away. I was very pleased at how nearly dry they were. I always take my window screens out for the winter because they block so much light. I put a screen atop each of two wooden drying racks in my furnace room and put a terry towel atop each one. I took a while to arrange them and reblock them somewhat and to pat and shake out the wrinkles.  I went back downstairs after a couple of hours and they had already begun to dry. I shook each one and turned them over. I was afraid to use the handwash cycle but am quite pleased with hand washing them myself. If you try this make sure you have two or more items for balance in the spin cycle rather than just one.

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Who Let The Dogs In?

via Badminton House UK

I love the casual pink and white ticking slipcovers. The books piled on the table reflect the real life living of these fortunate owners.

Beautiful gardens indeed. Be sure to click on the link under the first photo to see and read more.

Thursday, June 6, 2019

House / Patio: Before and After Renovation






Somebody had a vision and look what was accomplished! Read the story and see more photos here. I love before and after photos to see the fruits of good taste and hard labor. xo

Sunday, May 19, 2019

Old Photos from My Phone

I have no idea where this photograph came from but I loved it and saved it to my phone. I think this cottage is the ideal size and the construction materials are ones that will last several lifetimes. Isn't the chimney fabulous?

I don't know the source of this photo either but I loved the wattle fencing at the time and still do. Isn't this walled garden beautiful. 

I love this childhood oil on canvas portrait of a friend of mine with her cat. I photographed it when her house was for sale. She still has the same face. I didn't get her permission to post it online but I don't think she will mind. Isn't the embroidered name on the sash of her pinafore wonderful? She surely must have been an adored child.

I woke up this morning to a little shower but the sun is out now. Good weather for the seeds I planted yesterday. Have a lovely Sunday. xo

Friday, May 10, 2019

Lovely Raised Bed Flower Garden

I have always loved plantings so close together that weeds don't have a chance. I no longer look at photos like this and want them for myself. I know my limitations and am quite happy with what I've got. I like perennials, geraniums, nasturtiums, limelight hydrangeas and milkweed, lambs ears, and peonies. I overwinter my hardier plants. Right now my lilies of the valley are blooming and I have large buds on my peonies. My Lady's Mantle has been enjoying capturing all the raindrops we've had lately too. I don't do store-bought mulch like most people because I prefer wood chips in my beds. How does your garden grow? Enjoy all of my individual links leading to various photos around my cottage gardening. xo

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Gorgeous Planter with Spring Bulbs

I never think of planting spring bulbs in a container until it's too late. This old cememt planter is gorgeous and I love the weathered patina. These bulbs look right at home and I love the contrast between old and new. via

Click here for an important message from the children's book author, Roald Dahl, on the death of his daughter, Olivia, when she had measles at the age of seven. 

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Potting Shed in a Walled Garden

I took this photo yesterday at a Broker Open House tour. I have worked really hard for the past month on my three large 30-year-old English Boxwood trimming away the winter kill and yellow leaves and they look wonderful. I dug them up and brought them with me from my previous home. Every year, the deep snow breaks a few branches but I manage to rearrange the inner branches to conceal the gaps. I have noticed lots of new growth in the center and that makes me happy. Happy May Day!

Thursday, April 11, 2019

Charlotte Moss: Quiet Place to Sit

Design by Charlotte Moss 
A Quiet Spot to Sit
If you had to describe my garden, it's not so much about parterres and sweeping vistas as it is about intimate spaces, small rooms—gardens within gardens. We invited Gilles Guillot, the head gardener of the Prieuré Notre-Dame d'Orsan in Maisonnais, France, to re-create the same rondel-like windows into our hedging as he did at Orsan, and to weave similar willow benches, a gloriette, and frames for the espalier. Like rooms in a house, exterior rooms also want furnishings. Drawing your eye to a quiet corner, at the end of an allée, or under a tree, garden seating begs you to stay awhile, to sit and enjoy the view and the fruits of your labor. via

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Hanging Box for Spring Flowers

I love this idea for an outside hanging box to plant with seasonal flowers in bloom! It would be easy to change varieties as the current ones fade and bloom out. via

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Greenhouse and Raised Garden Beds

Yes, please! I love the all the raised beds. This is truly a gardener's paradise though too large for me. I would love a miniature version. via

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Goodbye to Summer

It is hot and muggy at my cottage today but a change is coming tomorrow when the high will be only 68° which is a big drop from 82° now. Can't wait! This image personifies the end of summer, doesn't it? via

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Cottage Garden

This is what I call an authentic Gardener's Cottage. Aren't the plantings beautiful? I love the simplicity of the cottage as a backdrop. via

Small Fenced Garden to Love


This is a very nice design that would work for me. I found it on Houzz. This could easily be a DIY project. I am digging up my herbs and bringing in my house plants to winter over this week. Last year I almost waiting until it was too late. xo

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Wisteria

This townhouse is impossibly lovely with its floral decoration by Mother Nature. Wisteria is pretty wild when left to its own devices so this vine must have had some help from a landscape design expert who trained it well. via

Monday, July 2, 2018

Amazing Artwork by Ellen Hooverkamp

I could spend the day looking at all of Ellen Hooverkamp's artwork. She arranges flowers and vegetables on a SCANNER and digitizes them for printing. Click here for more in this series called Edibles 1. "The subjects for these photos were sustainably grown and raised by local growers. Special thanks to the good folks at the Dudley Farm Market and to Trout Lily Farm, both in Guilford, CT."
Meet the artist and see other categories of her art and her book, pictured below, HERE. You're welcome. xo


This is the photo I found online somewhere that led me to Ellen.

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Bunny Mellon Embraced Friendly Weeds

Giant Mullein growing in her poolside gazebo.

Vanity Fair once described Bunny Mellon as the “high priestess of pruning and pleaching” for her devotion to gardening and personal love for pruning. While Bunny had an affinity for picking wildflowers and celebrated vegetable gardens, she loved pretty weeds as well.

Verbascum thapsus, a biennial plant, was once used as an herbal treatment for coughs, congestion, chest colds, bronchitis, and inflammation. For most of the year, the huge, furry leaves flourish under Bunny’s gazebo, stationed next to her display greenhouse. She felt that weeds were friendly, and often added to the beauty of her home, hence why the weed mullein was allowed to sprout between the stones. Its common name may have come from the Celtic term meaning yellow.

Read the entire article at Oak Spring Garden Foundation

Happy Memorial Day. It's cold, dark, and rainy here at my cottage but I don't mind. xo
The above link will lead you to my previous posts commemorating this holiday, celebrated each year on the last Monday in May.

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Nasturtium Seeds and An Acorn Tile

I found the seeds for trailing nasturtiums and bought 4 packets. I have already planted 2 packets in various planters in my front garden. It has rained every day since and I have turned on my heat twice. Mother Nature is still on a rampage of sorts but I'm ever hopeful the seeds will do their thing and give me a wonderful display. Fingers Crossed. I will put in supports for the ones I want to climb and leave the rest alone so they can trail.
The fabulous blue acorn tile was purchased at the same estate sale as my silver trophy. I adore the impressed acorn design, the intense blue color, and just looking at it makes me happy. Enjoy your Sunday. xo

Monday, May 14, 2018

Foxglove at Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg has the best old-fashioned gardens. This photo is from one of my favorite frequent posters on Instagram. She wanders around the village capturing the old houses and gardens, both flower and vegetable, and they are all fabulous. This garden is happening there right now. xo