It's been 3 Springs now that I've lived here and toiled in the garden, and I have to say, this is the year that I'm finally seeing how much all the hard work has paid off. The best part of my day is waking up and having my cup of coffee on the front porch which overlooks the beaming flower beds. All the perennials have pretty much learned how to take care of themselves and are starting to grow together, just as planned.
When I bought the house, I didn't realize how much needed to be done to fix the "curb appeal" (not to mention the jungle in the backyard, but that's another story). Once I got into it, I decided I really wanted to play up the fact that this house is a true cottage-style design from the 1940's, and design a true cottage-style garden. Plus, since I really didn't know what I was doing (seriously, I had no idea and prayed that I had inherited my mother's green thumb), I could be more haphazard with choosing the plants, flowers and overall design.
Two Easter weekend's ago, a backhoe was rented and the destruction began. Here's what the front of the house looked like before that day of reckoning:
And here's some pictures of what it looks like today:
I love my front door. I've dubbed the house the gnome home because of it.
I created a path to it with stepping stones that I found when I dug up the front yard. Here's a detail of it:
The only thing that was planted in the front where 4 rhododendrons. They are huge now!
One of my favorite things that I put in last year was my mock orange — it's incredibly fragrant.
And I just couldn't resist this photo of Ms. Ellie sleeping her afternoon away on the porch yesterday. I think she enjoys the garden just as much as I do. Well, she at least enjoys chasing away all the birds and butterflies that try to hang out with us.
Happy May!
2 comments:
what an adorable house you have! the flowers look great! just wanted to let you know the fireflies arrived and i love them! i ordered some for alison too since she is moving into her new apartment soon.
Thank you so very much! It's been a lot of sweat and tears, but so very worth it and the house has given me back ten-fold in happiness (if that could be measured)!
So glad you got the fireflies! Don't you just love them? Such a great gift too!!! I'll have to tell Dawn that she's started a tradition - she'll love that...
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