Gardening Part 2

We rejoyced in Audrey's demise (our crazed knarly wisertia) and I began to look at the landscaping.

Although our property is narrow, it is long and has some interesting "nooks" where the house juts out. We have an old dutch colonial and I thought the cottage garden look suited it best.

But where did I start? I began in the front....so all could see.

I am one of "those" people who need symmetry in their decorating, so I put one nikko blue hydrangea on each side of the entrance steps. They seemed to flourish and I got excited! The woman who had a "black thumb" for houseplants was actually keeping plants alive in the garden.

I weeded out the front and got rid of the half dying stuff. I also planted a few hostas. Hostas are really cool because there are many species and they all look slightly different. Plus, they have a low/wide profile except when in bloom, where they have tall bracts with oddly shaped flowers.

Then I became a little deranged and took on the rest of the front, back and side gardens simultaneously. What a mistake! When you are in the process of creating a garden everything is a mess. I had front, back and side messes! In order to accomplish anything in creating a garden from scratch you have to have:
1) patience
2) lots of money
3) a great plan to execute
4) lots of time or someone to do all the manual labor
5) great vision

I had none of this...just the vague concept of having a cottage garden. The great thing about cottage gardens is that they look slightly tangled up and "messy" so I really was on my way to accomplish this!

Did I say seven years later I am still working on the gardens?

Thomas Jefferson once said at the end of his life (and he was an old man when he died!) that he was an old man but a very young gardener. I take great comfort in that...