The online definition of a Cottage Garden is — “a distinct, informal garden style that blends dense, overlapping plantings of traditional flowers with edible plants like herbs and vegetables. It is known for its romantic, ‘perfectly imperfect’ aesthetic, prioritizing lush abundance and casual charm over rigid structure and symmetry.”
I have always loved the “cottage garden” look and wanted to create that look as a welcoming point at the entrance to my home. But the bed that I had started there was surrounded by Monkey Grass (Liriope) and looked more like a “grave plot” than a flower bed. Every time I looked at it or added a few flowers, it felt depressing and out of sync with what I wanted it to be.
My motto is — if something is not working for you — FIX IT!
So I began to dig out the monkey grass on one side. It was packed along the walk so tightly, and the roots were so thick, I had to use a short handled sledge hammer to drive the shovel in to separate it. I was able to move it to a new location and it is doing well with all the rain we’ve had lately. I kept the outside border. I use these Monkey Grass borders around all my flower beds to keep grass seed from being thrown into my flowers from the lawn mower. Those tight roots also keep Bermuda grass from creeping in as much.
Once I had the bed cleaned out and added garden soil and mulch, I was ready to start shopping for perennials for permanency in the area. I started with Lowes. They were having a Memorial Day sale on perennials so I was able to get my Dianthus and Coreopsis for $5.00 each. The rest of my plants were purchased from a local garden center and the prices ran much higher.
Here are pictures of the plants I placed in the bed:
Dianthus
Coreopsis (The yellow flower with the bumble bee on it.)
Vinca
Pazzaz Red Portulaca (The only annual other than the late pansies.)
Pink Diamonds Dicentra
Cat’s Pajamas Nepeta
Amazing Daisies ‘Marshmallow’
Final results:
My special Mother’s Day present! I was so excited to get this stone placed in the garden. It is hard to read on this blog, but it has the flowers of all my grandchildren’s birthday months with their names listed under it. The heading is “Mimi’s Garden”, and the caption below the grandchildren’s names says: “HELPING US TO GROW IN THE LORD AND LOVE”. 💖
What areas of your home or garden need to be fixed? Jump in there and change it. You will feel so much better once you do.
And…
Have a great week!