If you’re a plant lover, you’ll love knowing all the names of all the flowers in Christy’s garden.
Christy has been gardening for as long as she can remember. She says, “My Dad loved gardening and I think I inherited the love of gardening from him. Even as a young child I can remember helping him in the garden.”
“Fast forward many years and I married my wonderful hubby. Our entire lot in San Diego, my home town, was 45 feet by 75 feet and I literally ran out of room to plant even one more flower…this does not make for a happy gardener!
“Ten years ago I retired and we moved to my hubby’s home town of Clarksville, Tennessee. Our main priority was to buy some land and when we saw our current property, 3.6 acres, for the first time we fell in love with it. Three acres may not be the largest property, but for someone from California it’s huge and I know I’ll never run out of room to garden again!”
“When we moved into our new home in January 2005, there was absolutely nothing growing in our yard. One thing we had plenty of was mud….lots and lots of mud. I knew I wanted a cottage style garden and began doing research to find out which cottage style plants would grow in Tennessee ….and so it began.
Laying out the garden. The square plot at left became a sitting area under a tree. Where the soil is will be the whimsical garden “bedroom”.
“We began making our first bed, which was 4 feet by 6 feet, in March 2005. Since then we’ve added more flower beds every year and currently have over 12,000 sq. feet of flower and shrub beds. I’m very proud to say that my hubby and I planted every plant and did all the work ourselves.”
Christy unified the look of her flower garden by creating gravel paths lined in rock. These paths, naturally formed the shape of her garden beds, but she used a keyhole design in the center for a tree-shed sitting area furnished with two vintage metal chairs.
“Starting in spring, I spend an average of five to six hours a day, almost every day, working in the garden. However, it’s not really work when you love it like I do! My hubby is still working and I’m so thankful, and lucky, that he enjoys helping me in the garden on his days off.”
The flowers that are blooming in this picture are: Asiatic Lilies, Bachelor Buttons, Mexican Hats, “Bergamo” Bee Balm, Blanket Flowers, Daylilies, Pentas, Rudbeckias, Gauras, Coneflowers, “Black & Blue” Salvia, Larkspurs and Verbena “Bonariensis”. Flowers that are in the picture but are not currently blooming include: Mock Orange shrub, Iris, Mums, “Henry Eilers” Coneflower, Rose Mallow, Peony, Caryopteris and Baptisia.
The flowers that are blooming in the picture above are: “Denver Daisy” Rudbeckia, “Kudos Mandarin” Hyssop, Japanese Catmint, Blanket Flowers, Daylilies, Woodland Phlox, “Mealy Cup” Sage, Verbena “Bonariensis” and Bachelor Buttons. Flowers that are in the picture but are not currently blooming include: Poppies, Coneflowers and two colors of Phlox.
“My husband and I work together to make all of the new beds but his main interest is growing and maintaining our vegetable garden which is 50 feet by 50 feet. Every year we plant extra vegetables to share with friends and give to one of our local food banks. Our “kids” are all four-legged; currently five dogs and one cat. All of our “kids” are rescues and we love them very much!”
For a cottage garden, you need a cottage! Christy says, “Another Sunflower courtesy of the birds. Interesting that it’s in the perfect spot!”
Christy and her husband built it themselves. She says, “The building kit is from a “big box” store but hubby and I did all the other work on it; windows, window boxes, porch, paint, etc”
A peaceful birdbath accents the bed and mulch keeps the weeds under control. Christy pops containers in as they bloom.
Of the rocks that edge her beds, Christy says, “We get all the rip-rap, what they call those rocks, at the local quarry. For about the first eight years we loaded every rock into the trailer by hand. About two years ago they changed the rule and don’t allow anyone to load by hand, so we have them load them into our trailer with their giant tractors.”
“I feel cottage style goes hand-in-hand with flea market style. Both are a very relaxed, laid back, comfortable style and I love that. In fact, I love it so much that both my garden and the inside of my home are decorated in cottage/flea market style.”
There’s more then one kind of flower bed in Christy’s garden,…this one complete with beside table and dresser! The bed is planted with creeping phlox, and in containers and as a ‘pillow,’ pansies and violas
With a vintage and delightfully rusty bed frame, Christy planned a ‘garden bedroom.’ “The idea here is that they will eventually cover the entire bed (except where there are sunken pots) and drape over the edge. I will then cut the edge to look like a scallop design. The pots are sunk and are planted with annual flowers to represent a quilt design.”
Christy’s garden bike and flowers in primary colors. Million bells and Petunias in the basket and gold Coreopsis behind it
“When I was planning the “cottage look” I wanted for my gardens, I studied pictures in dozens of cottage style magazines and found the ones I liked best were usually a mix of cottage flowers and flea market treasures.
The two go together….as Forrest Gump would say, ‘Just like peas and carrots!’”
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