The Garden Cottage Got A Big Facelift!

By now you know how obsessed I am with my little garden cottage. 

In my last post I showed you the most recent upgrade, the lattice around the base. 

Which made her look prettier, but NOTHING like what I did this past weekend!

 Are you ready for it? Are you? 

Brace yourself!

Look at her now!!!!  I just want to break into song....."Isn't she lovely.....Isn't she wonderful...."

Those of you who follow me on Instagram got a sneak peek over the weekend so this is hardly news to you. 

I'm just so darned proud of how she looks now compared to the first day I opened those doors and fell through the floor!

This was a tough project and I'm still sore from it, 4 days later. 

I started by placing the tree in the pot in the area I was picturing it growing, and moving it around until it felt and looked 'right' to me. 

Then I got out my biggest shovel and started the back breaking work of digging a hole in my clay soil. 

Do you see all those big rocks at the side? Those came out of that hole. 

I wasn't kidding when I told you what a nightmare it is to dig a hole up here on the mountain top!

The orange bucket was filled with compost from my compost maker - I put some in the bottom of the hole, mixed it with Energy Buttons from Gardener's Supply, and filled in around the tree with the rest of the compost. 

Then I took a break for a few minutes and figured out where the rest of the plants were going. 

I wanted something that would have interest all season, even when not flowering. I'm a huge fan of contrasting foliage, so that was the way I went with this garden. Also, I wanted something that was mounded, not something that spread. A neater, more manicured look than some of my other gardens. 

Almost done with the planting and the pile of rocks is growing!  Look at how those colors play off one another - just gorgeous!

The plants are all in, so me and Bee headed off to the pallet of paving stones to grab a bunch for the edging. Before we did that, I loaded up the trailer with those big rocks and took them to the edge of the woods to dump them. 

Did  I mention how very much I love Bee? She may very well possibly be my new best friend!

Sweetie says she's his competition. No way, Sweetie!

Now it was time for the weed barrier. I used some of the smaller rocks I dug out of the holes to keep it in place while I cut it with scissors and worked it around the base of the plants. 

Not the easiest task, but certainly much easier than digging holes or pulling weeds!

This little purple kneeler/bench is another one of my gardening best friends. It flips over to become a stool, or can be used as a kneeler - and the 'legs' become support to get back up after you've been kneeling. 

Anything that helps this old lady out in the garden is most welcome at my home!

I wanted a curved bed to counter all the sharp corners and straight lines. Time for mulch!

Oh my gosh isn't it just the most amazing improvement? 

I do plan on continuing the bed across (under the window box) and ending it at the stairs to the other french doors.

But I was out of steam. I had nothing left. 

This was a very, very tough, back breaking project. 

I have two Hostas left that I will split and plant in the other portion of the bed. Whenever my sore body is ready to tackle those holes. 

But for now I am just so pleased with how beautiful my little garden cottage looks!

You can see the 'wild' garden to the left of the swing in this photo - it sure is a lot different than the manicured bed I just put in!

It's full of native ferns, and it's the site where the previous owners used to dump pots and old plants....which is exactly why I decided it would be perfect for a wild garden - the soil had already been composting for years! It was full of leaves and loamy rich soil....and roots, and rocks of course!

Now it's also full of Peonies, Bleeding Hearts, Hostas, Foxgloves, Dead Nettle, Ajuga, and these lovely Lily of the Valleys. 

The Peonies are getting ready to bloom for the first time since I planted them which is super exciting. 

I found this sweet metal bucket at a garage sale over the weekend for $5 - I drilled holes in it and planted it with Impatiens and I knew it would be perfect on the stump in my wild garden. 

On the other side of my garden cottage is the lovely Lilac I showed you in my last post, the one from my parents. It's not very full yet, but it did have quite a few blooms this year, and they were spectacular!

The Hydrangea Tree I ordered from The Planting Tree arrived in TWO days with free shipping, and was packed so amazingly well and in fantastic condition! I'm so pleased with my order from them, and will keep them in mind in the future for certain. 

It's already got buds on it, so I will be enjoying flowers in its very first season - that's exciting!

I'm so delighted with the view out my bedroom window now, it pleases me to no end. 

That's the life of a gardener, enjoying the simple pleasures. 

Meanwhile where were my helpers when I was breaking my back creating a new garden bed? 

Little crackpots think they are billy goats or something!!!