Take a photo stroll around my cottage garden
I have been tucked away in my office writing, so I haven’t done much this year to my little cottage garden. However, my garden didn’t seem to mind, because summer has arrived in full bloom without me. I have more hummingbirds this year, butterflies, birds, and bumblebees than ever before. In the mornings, when I walk around with my first cup of coffee, it is like listening to a symphony of nature. It is so beautiful. One day I’ll have to post a video on my blog or directly on my Instagram story so you all can enjoy the birds with me. I suppose I’ll need to look at getting some free followers before I start posting online, I’m not much of an Instagrammer!
My garden is only small but I love it just the way it is. At the minute, it’s manageable. However, when I get older, I may not be able to keep on top of all of the jobs that need to be done to ensure the garden looks lovely. In that case, I’ll probably need to find someone who can sort my garden for me. Perhaps a company like https://www.lawncare.net/ could maintain the garden, it’s worth keeping a business like that in mind for when we all get older!
Although my garden is smaller than others, I was speaking to one of my friends from Australia the other day though and she told me that she is currently in the process of having a granny flat built her in a large garden. Her parents are not as mobile as they used to be so she wants them to live as close to her as possible. It turns out there are plenty of granny flat builders in the Sydney area who can create the granny flat of your dreams provided you have enough space. I thought it was such a lovely idea as caring for your loved ones is so important.
Back to my garden now though and I love perennials, and I tend to choose hardy ones that come back each year without fuss. Peonies, poppies, Dutchman’s pipe, climbing roses, wisteria, clematis, honeysuckle, and allium are all in bloom. Everyone always asks how much time this takes to maintain, and truly, it isn’t much. I do one round of weekend weeding and mulching each year in the spring, and then let it go for the rest of the season, except for an occasional offender I might see while walking about in the evenings when my husband is grilling. Of course, there’s the odd job in the garden we’re not able to do ourselves unless we want to put ourselves in harm’s way, trying to tend to or remove a tree being the one that pops into my mind. If we ever have a need to do these tasks, we’ll likely use the arborist services (like those found here – www.treeserviceremoval.com) for assistance.
Although, for whatever reason, clover abounds in my flower beds this year. I’m just going to take that as a sign of good luck. Here are a few pictures I took yesterday. There will be another round of photos come mid-summer, when my daisies, coneflowers, dahlias, sunflowers and morning glories arrive.
Until then, here’s a little photo stroll through my garden in June…
Pinks and poppies spill over the walkway.
Open the garden gate to where the lanterns have been hung.
Pick a bouquet of peonies for the table, and don’t mind the ants because they are working hard to pollinate them for next year.
Grapes have begun to grow. They were a gift from a library patron and are over five years old now. Maybe this year we’ll try to make wine. Or drink someone else’s attempt and eat the grapes.
Boil some sugar water and fill the feeders.
For the hummingbirds to enjoy.
Hostas keep the clematis’ roots cool.
The gate keeper assesses the situation…
And then snuggles into her favorite shaded spot.
The climbing roses have begun to open. They get one uninterrupted bloom before the Japanese beetles hatch and much away.
The Dutchman’s pipe vines its way around the garden bell. Look closely and you’ll see it’s in bloom. Maybe this year we’ll get Dutchman Pipe butterflies.
Hope you all have a wonderful summer!
Best wishes,
Jan
(post transferred from original blog)
