Winter 2008

When February starts coming to a close I start getting anxious to go out into my garden. I am waiting for a warm enough day to just start preparing for spring. At this time of the year I like to get plans started and also to clear away the leftover leaves and start cutting back the perennials that I left in the fall.

Plans for this spring is to work on the cottage garden for the front of the arbor and picket fence.

Here you can see the old path that we removed. I planted some lavender last fall to get a start on the garden.  

Here is the front which we will get started on this spring.

Spring 2008
The soil quality was very poor so I had to first amend the soil. I used a mix of top soil, compost and peet moss. I am concentrating on two main sections - the side of the fence you see here and the arbor you will see below. Terri is checking out the new garden.

We picked up some plants from the local garden centers but most were ordered from Graceful Gardens as I love that they specialize in cottage gardens. So far we planted Campanula, Dianthus, Echinacea, Lupines, Lobelia, Sidalcea, Veronica, May Night Salvia and Butterfly Blue. We also planted Clematis on one side of the arbor and will soon put in Climbing Roses on the other side. We will be putting in a new garden path soon that will start at the arbor and continue to the back yard.

Inside the front gate we added to the garden that is aleady becoming established. We added Bleeding Heart, we transplanted some azaleas from the front of the house and also planted some of the perennials from Graceful Gardens.

Our lilacs are in full bloom this spring. It is amazing how they grew in one year.