Violets Are Blue

Violet Bouquet

After a long hard winter with snowbanks over our heads, it was such a delight to see the snow melt away, and masses of tiny violets begin to unfurl their leaves. I know from experience, that in what seems like a blink of an eye, the violets will be sending up their precious deep purple blossoms. And this year, like every other before it, the violets haven’t let me down!

To some, these sweet little plants can be considered an unwelcome guest. And although I do admit to having more than expected pop up in the cottage gardens, each spring I welcome them like the arrival of a long awaited friend.

Violets in Spring

With their heart shaped leaves, and sweet little faces, how can you not love these little gems?

Garden Violets

And just look at that gorgeous deep color!!

Deep purple violets

I think I must be a kindred spirit to the Victorians, as they too had a deep love for violets. They used them for perfume, ate them in salads, candied them & used them to adorn their cakes & pastries, pressed them for use in their crafts, & used them as an ingredient in many of their toiletries.

People called “violet-sellers” would have baskets filled with nosegays and tussie-mussies, and sell them from the street corners. And it wasn’t just the women buying them to pin to their dresses, but the men also had a love for violets & tucked them into their lapels & the brims of their hats.

Violet Tussie-Mussies

Violets could be seen on everything from china, jewelry, home decor, & ladies stationary.

Violet Bouquet

The Victorians also felt that different flowers had different meanings, and that they could be given as a “silent message” that actually spoke volumes to the recipient.

If you received a violet, the giver was giving you a message of affection.
The white violet meant deep affection, while the blue violet spoke of faithful love.

Violet Bouquet

I gathered several bouquets for our home, and here is one that I put in a vintage inkwell that belonged to my grandfather. He loved flowers, and I think he helped pass that love on to me. So here are some blue violets in honor of my love for him … until we meet again.

Violets in Vintage Inkwell

If you don’t have any sweet violets in your yard, I’m sure a friend would be willing to share a plant or 3 😉

Stone Walls, Cobblestone, and Terraced Cottage Gardens

Stone wall and cobblestone steps

When we started working on the landscaping for our cottage in the woods, we were unsure of how to handle the hill that joined the side of the house with our country lane.

Initially I really wanted some stairs leading up to the front door, otherwise we would always have to enter the house through the garage/basement… unless we walked all the way around the hill & up to the front door.

After looking at the size of the project, the price that it was surely going to cost, not to mention not knowing exactly how to go about accomplishing the project, I was afraid that we were going to have to settle for something less that what we really wanted.

But… after going through lots of pictures, and discovering some new ideas to build a set of stairs ourselves, we finally had a new option!

You see, initially we tried to build the steps from stone that we gathered from around the property, but no matter what we did, we couldn’t get them to lay even. Because we didn’t want anyone to catch their toe & trip while climbing the stairs, we had to find another solution.

And we finally it!!!

We would use manufactured cobblestones to build the steps themselves, then use the stone from the property to build the sidewalls of the steps, as well as the walls of the terrace garden.

This would not only allow us to have nice even steps and still give us the look that we wanted, but the cost would also be very low, because most of the supplies would be coming right here from the land!

Lest you have the idea that the job was going to be an easy one… I wanted to start from the beginning to show you what we started out with (of course the land was initially all wooded & my husband & I cleared it ourselves – so even this picture isn’t from the “actual” beginning 😉

You can see where my husband grabbed his trusty shovel and starting roughing in the steps into the side of the hill. You can also see all of the rocks that he was pulling out & putting aside for later use.

The Beginning of Our Terraced Cottage Garden

After the steps were laid, we starting laying out the stone walls on each side to keep the soil from falling out. We also decided that it would be wise to lay landscaping cloth behind each row of stacked stone, then pile the dirt up behind it. This would keep the soil from simply washing through the front of the walls each time it rained.

Stone walls, cobblestone steps, and terrace cottage garden in progress!

Now the steps were pretty much laid in and the bottom retaining wall was well underway. You can also see that we were FINALLY able to rake down the soil on the hill in the background – remove all of the stones – and cover it with a layer of top soil to prepare it for planting grass seed.

Stacked stone wall

I love this close up of the bottom retaining wall as it was going up! Don’t you just love the character that stone gives!

Stone wall and cobblestone steps

The work of laying out a stone wall is not some sort of science, but you do need to take your time & be sure that everything is sturdy & sound.

I love a more natural look to the garden, and wanted things to appear as though they had been there for a very long time!

So… we picked the rocks that would be visible very carefully.

I also LOVE to visit different garden centers & look through the clearance racks for special deals. Last year, I found 20 large boxwood plants for around $1.25 each! I decided to plant some of them between the steps & the cottage garden for a bit of color and structure. You can also see how I started tucking small plants into different cracks and crevices here & there that we left for that purpose. There are so many different varieties of little ground covers, herbs, and sedums that you can use for that purpose.

Terrace Garden Steps

The ivy was another great find! Only $3 per flat, and what’s not to love about ivy & stones together!

Terrace Garden Cobblestone Steps

After lots of hard work, you can finally start to see things taking shape. I’ve designed the garden to have 4 different planting areas.

Level 1. Shrubs such as hydrangeas (the very top)
Level 2. Cottage Perennials – Foxgloves, poppies, garden phlox, etc.
Level 3. Ground covers & low growing plants – sedums, mini phlox, ajuga, etc.
Level 4. Hardy hibiscus (ground level)

Terrace Garden Spaces

We loaded up some of my plant stash to take up to the planting beds. You can see that the wagon is filled with some of my favorite cottage garden plants!

Terrace Garden Plants

Finally time to plant!

Phlox in front of one of the stone walls

Behind each stone wall, there is also a nice bed of carpet roses. They will bloom all season long, and in no time at all will be approx. 4ft X 4ft… also draping over the stone walls just a bit!

Terrace Garden Roses

Have I mentioned that Foxgloves are some of my favorites!

Terrace Garden Foxgloves

In the next tier down, I planted some miniature garden phlox. I’ve never heard of minis, so I’m really excited about these! I’ve also added some small iris for their nice color & shape.

Terrace Garden Plants

Another bunch of roses peeking out from behind the moss covered stones.

Terrace Garden Roses

The large hardy hibiscus were another GREAT deal that I picked up this Spring. We stopped at a local plant sale, and because it was later in the day, they were trying to get rid of things that they still had left (nice tip for you… go to plant sales both in the morning – then go back later in the day ;).

I saw a big box of roots – marked hardy hibiscus. I asked her the price… normally they are selling for $4-$5 each because they are such nice big roots, but we will give you the whole box for $10! Sold! So… I bought the roots in the Spring, but because the garden wasn’t ready to plant until later, the shoots had already started growing – which explains their legginess. Next year… they will be nice & full!

Terrace Garden Walls

A few close ups of some of my plants
Saxifraga – my first ever… and I’m in love! The aroma is heavenly!
Saxifraga in the cottage garden

Ajuga – some people say…. oh be careful, that plants spreads so much… and I say… that’s exactly why I love it so 😉

Ajuga in the cottage garden

A couple of my pretty ladies (hydrangeas) from the upper level.

Hydrangea

Because I am only planting shrubs in the upper level, I decided to mulch around them to keep the weeds down.

Hydrangea - Pink Mop-heads

Another shot of the lower level

Terrace Garden Lower Level

Our special visitor…

You might remember turtle girl from last year… yes… she’s back again!

This little lady comes to our hill each year to lay her eggs, and this year was no different! Hopefully we’ll see little babies coming out to enjoy the garden soon 😉

Terrace Garden Visitors

Even though our garden is only a few months old, we already see such growth in the plants, and we are all enjoying it immensely!

Was it worth all of the heavy work? You bet it was!

I will be sure to keep you up to date as to how this garden is coming along, as well as the other gardens that are currently under loving construction throughout the forest 😉

Flowers for the Cottage Garden

This week I made a stop at my local Lowe’s garden center. I try to stop in frequently throughout the summer, because there are always so many unadvertised specials to be found! While I was there this week, I overheard a sales person talking with a customer, trying to explain the over abundance of plant material. She said – they have a contract with a large wholesaler, and they receive a certain number of plants whether they need them or not. This usually means that they have way to many plants & need to mark them down – or else they will risk loosing the plants due to lack of proper space & care.

There is almost always a rack of plant mark downs when I stop in. I routinely find deals of 50-% – 75% off!

I am so thrilled with my latest finds!

This is an evergreen ground cover called: Lithodora – Grace Ward
Lithodora Ground Cover

It flowers in May & June, only gets approx 6″ high, and is one of the best blue flowering ground covers available!

This little beauty is a wonderful option for; ground covers, rock gardens, spilling over walls, hanging baskets, or edging your flower garden borders. I think this plant would look wonderful with the white version of this plant which is called “‘White Swan”. I think I might also mix mine with some ajuga.

I was VERY excited to find this Longwood Wisteria plant with a few flowers already on it, especially when some types of wisteria plants can take up to 7-10 years to bloom!
Wisteria - Purple Longwood

They like to grow in sun or partial shade, and can reach 20 – 30 feet tall! It will grow in zones 5-9, and I was surprised to find out that this particular wisteria is a US native! Although this plant blooms from late spring to early summer, there are also reports of this beauty showing off again right through September!

Humming Bird Feeder – Vintage Glass Look

Red Hummingbird Feeder

I wanted to show you this great new humming bird feeder that I picked up at my local Walmart for $9.95!

The reason it caught my eye (besides the fact that it was deep red – my favorite color… for now ;), was because I thought that it was a thick red wine bottle that had been made into a humming bird feeder. It reminded me of some of the other thick bubble glass that some of my other garden features are made out of.

Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was actually plastic!

It has the look of a vintage wine bottle with a cork. At first, you might think about how hard it would be to keep the feeder filled after you take out the cork, but you actually unscrew the bottom of the feeder, turn it upside down, fill it, then turn it right side up – (after you put the bottom back on of course :).

Both the hanger & the bottom of the feeder are made out of metal, both of which help add to that vintage feel.

Peach Begonia

I purchased this feeder a week or so ago, but while I was working in the office today, I saw a little humming bird come up to the window. He was trying to get to the beautiful begonia flowers that a friend had given me (he must have been spying on me through the window :). So… I figured it was finally time to share the pretty red “vintage looking” feeder with him – and not just keep it all to myself 😉

If you get a chance, go check out the garden center at your local Walmart… maybe you can find one for your cottage garden!

Apple Blossoms Line a Country Lane

Apple Blossoms
My daughter & I just returned home from spending a week with my mom & dad in MD. It was the first time that I had ever driven such a distance by myself, so I was a bit nervous. I figured, at 38 years old, I should at least give it a try 🙂 To my surprise (and with much prayer) I did a fine job! With my little princess at my side we were off.

To help keep me awake, and to side step trying to find a suitable radio station every little while, we decided to pick up some audio books from our local library. Although I see audio books available, I had never thought of picking up any for my own enjoyment, but now I’m so glad we did! We had a marvelous time & finished 2 novels as well! I would encourage you to go to your local library & pick up some audio books for yourself. It’s free – and you can order the kinds of books that are appropriate for you & your family. I think I’m hooked!

We had a great time with my parents. Even though we are only 5-6 hours away, the seasons unfold about a month ahead of us. We left little piles of snow, and were greeted with apple & pear blossoms, smiling forsythias, and dancing daffodils!

I had to share a few pictures of a country lane lined with apple trees that we spied along a winding country road. The white blossoms made them look like they were covered with beautiful dreamy cotton balls! The sight reminded me of a scene from Anne of Green Gables, when Anne & Matthew were first arriving at Green Gables and the horse drawn wagon enters into an old apple orchard dripping with white blossoms… <./Pearl stops dreaming> 😉

While in MD, my mom took us to the most fabulous fabric shop! When we walked in, I could see that I might need to linger there for quite a while 🙂 I headed straight over to the wonderful home decorating section filled to the brim with waverly fabrics and every kind of toile imaginable! And the prices… 50% – 70% off! Needless to say… I picked up a “few” lovely pieces of fabric for future projects 😉

I’ll be sure to share some pictures & ideas with you tomorrow!

When my husband & I came home yesterday, it was so nice outside that we decided to go down by the river and drink in the goodness of God. We spent an hour or so just taking in the sights & sounds of our little heaven on earth. The water is higher than normal due to the Spring meltdown, so the sound of the water rushing over the rocks was wonderful! We spied a pair of ducks swimming towards us, so we tried to be as quiet as possible as to not scare them away. Here in the forest we seem to see so many different types of birds that we were not used to seeing at our other home down in the heart of the village. I guess even being a short distance away – as well as being tucked back in the forest helps bring out the best of area wildlife 😉

Well… the sun is shining – the birds are singing – and the peepers were out last night for the first time! It must be Spring!