I love flowers. All kinds, all colors--I've never met a flower that I didn't like. My dream is to have flowers upon flowers all around my house with no space between. I've been working on my flower beds since we bought our house in 2015. As of now it's still a work in progress, but we're getting there! One day my flower beds will look like the cottage gardens on Pinterest. We have a long way to go before it’s anything to brag about (or show too many pictures of), but every glow-up has to start somewhere!
I'm actually pretty good at keeping flowers alive in the ground. The only bad thing about me--I'm lazy when real work is involved. And by real work I mean weeding. That's why cottage gardens are perfect for me. I'd love to have hundreds of flowering plants all over our property, growing so close together that there isn't any room for weeds to grow between them. But flowers are expensive and I'm a little more on the thrifty (cheap) side. It's a slow process. It's been six years and my flowers are pretty but messy and not nearly how I want them to look. It's hard to work in the flowers like I want to with a baby. I try to focus on adding plants and keeping them alive for now, so in the future all I'll have to do is pull weeds and prune. Here's how I‘ve added flowers to my wannabe cottage garden year after year while spending the bare minimum.
We started with what was already here. The little old lady that lived in our house before us was the ultimate crazy plant lady. There were gardenias, hydrangeas, and azaleas with so many blooms that you could barely see the leaves behind them. We left these and just continued to take care of them as they were. Pink ruffled althea trees were also dotted around the property in random places. They weren't quite living up to their full potential, so we dug them up and moved them around, sometimes two and three times until we found the spot in the yard where they would be happiest.
Next, I kept my eyes peeled for what was free. I walked across the road with a shovel about three years ago and dug my pink climbing roses out of the ditch. Most of my lilies and irises were divided from my mom's house as well as my childhood home. My knockout roses also came from my mom's house when she was ready to change things out in her flower bed. Purple lantana was dug up from my mother in law’s house when she read that it was poisonous to her goats.
On a similar note, I made friends with fellow cottage gardeners. I’ve come home more than once with wet paper towels wrapped around bare-rooted plants.
My favorite way to add to my plant collection is to browse the garden clearance section at Walmart or Lowes. I pick up alive but sad plants and bring them home. Most of the time all they need is to get out of that plastic pot. I have the prettiest little shrub with blue flowers that I rescued from Walmart for two dollars and some change. I don't even know what it is called because the tag was missing when I bought it, but it flowers profusely and attracts hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies all summer!
Some plants are easier to root than others, but it's always worth the try! I’ve rooted confederate roses, butterfly bushes, Althea trees, cactus, and succulents. Rooting hormone can be purchased to make the process easier, but I prefer rooting without it.
I do not strive for perfection. I prefer things to have a more lived-in, care-free appearance, so my cottage inspired flowerbeds will never be “done.“ I’m okay with that, though, because the journey is what makes it fun!
Comments