Come in come in…….don’t worry about all the mess on the kitchen table, I’ll just move it over. Now…..what would you like to drink this morning? I have every flavor of coffee imaginable; Donut Shop, French Roast, Carmel Pie? I’m reading the labels from the coffees……..Mocha Java, New Orleans Blend. Oh, here’s a good one! Jamaican Me Crazy! Do you want to try that? I’ll just pop it in the coffee pot.
I have been working feverishly in the garden. Can you tell? Everything is planted and looking good. Yes, we tore out all the Mondo Grass from the side along the fence in the cottage garden. What a chore! I had left it unattended for a few years and it had spread, was ever so thick and about 8 inches high, overpowering all the flowers in that flower bed. Shameless rascal! So, we dug it all out. I say we, but it was hubby doing labor and me there to supervise………..
Now the cottage garden has taken on a new shape and look…..you can actually see the stepping stones again. It’s amazing how the new plants dug right in and look completely at home! So, here are some before and afters…….
a few days later……
About a week later…………..The lavender has grown up to this!
And the Front Cottage Garden looked like this…………
and two weeks later……..
and one of my favorite plants and my favorite color in the garden, bright, bright green!! Spiderwort, “Sweet Cate”!
Then it turned cooler and the rain came……..so I decided to pull out all the tags from the flowers bags, (I just threw them in plastic bags and marked the year they were planted), which is now ten year’s worth! I found the original landscaping designs and marched out to the garden to see what was left and what was not, so I could make a proper Garden Journal. Then I went online and found this wonderful site for printable journals……. A journal that could document everything……..the plants, the layout, the bugs, the chores and to-do’s, the expense sheet……..(keep that one well hidden and deep into the planner to keep hubby from having a heart attack)… and on and on. It really covered everything and more that I wanted!
I looked every plant up that I had, all the old and the new ones, in the New Southern Living Garden Book. I made Plant Profiles of every one (I have 87 different plants, trees and shrubs in my garden) and I plopped a plant tag by each plant, so I don’t have to say thats a idont’trememberthenameaiirosa……or that’s apassalongplantafrommyfriendaiibegonia. Plants usually have that ii after their official names, why is that? Anyway, I profiled ’em and I tagged ’em and I created a big journal. And most of the tags are out of the bags now. There were some hostas I have to wait on to identify properly…..but I feel really good about all the work, inside and out. Then I started looking at the plant catalogs…….well that’s another story altogether.
The new nest has arrived!
Happy Spring!
That’s what I’ve been up to for that last couple of weeks, how about you? Do you have a garden? Do you document your garden in any way? Please let me know what you do! Here is the online site for the Plant Journal, if you would like to jump in. See you next week! I’m sure I will still be enjoying the plants!
ThatTravelLadyInHerShoes 
Wow, you’ve been busy!! And your cottage garden looks so charming – love all the different shades of green 🌿.
Before we’ve sold our house in the city, we had a lot of lavender – except that it looked really beautiful, it smelled so nice! Now, at our smaller beach house, we just have pots with succulents (easy to lock up and go). We probably have about 30 different succulent plants – all different sizes and different colours of green 👍🏻.
Now … what did you say about that coffee … ‘Jamaican me Crazy’, that is such a great name!
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Thank you! I like my garden to look nice and tidy……..my house too! When you are retired it’s easier, I think, because things don’t get messed up! You know, one year I planted succulents in my Back Cottage Garden, just to fill in some bald spots. To my surprise, they come up every year now! Who knew! It is so hot here in the summer (and humid) but we have underground watering systems. It must be just right (that and we get so few nights below freezing in the winter) that they come back every year! Cady
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You don’t do anything by halves, do you? You make me smile every time 🙂 🙂 I only have small patio to play with and I’m happy just moving pots around and admiring. Enjoy your week!
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I wish I could, but it is not in my genes! What are you up to this week? Cady
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On a bit of a slow time till after Easter. Seeing a couple of friends, walking and pottering 🤗💕
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Are you having family over for Easter? What do you serve for Easter there? I am and I serve a cheese appetizer with crackers and a small vegetable plate for the firsts. (AND WINE OF COURSE) The mains is a ham, a potato casserole, deviled eggs and baked bean casserole. Desert is store bought cheesecakes in various flavors! I don’t know exactly what my kids are bringing! And, then on Tuesday I leave again…… I have been batting ZERO on my little trips lately! This one was rain, rain, thunderstorms, flooding, rain and more rain. Came back early! Guess how many photos I took? ZIP! Next week better be better or else! Ha ha! Cady
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That’s a sore subject, Cady. I can’t see my kids cos they’re in the UK, and so should I be but there are no flights due to the virus. I took Easter eggs to the local charity because I can’t give them to my own. 🙂 🙂
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Bummer! Hopefully all this nonsense over soon!
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You have been busy creating a lovely space. We are tenants in a property which shares a large and lovely garden with our landlords. We feel very lucky, as I like the idea of gardening more tan I enjoy actually doing the work, I think!
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Really, we just weed weekly, and Miracle Grow often, once everything has come up, and fill in whenever something has died. I put annuals in pots. Although, last year, I bought hibiscus when another gardener told me how well they did planted in her garden. I bought three and planted two in the ground and one in a pot so we’ll see how they do! So far they are sticks! Cady
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What a difference two weeks makes, especially when you live further south! I do keep a garden journal, but not one like yours with all the plants listed, which I probably should. I noted yours are not alphabetical, or by type of plant (annual, perennial, shrub, tree?) so I’m wondering how you organized the pages…by each garden?
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Carolee, yes I organize by my little gardens. I made a very crude map of each and then number the plant in each spot. Then I have a big page for each plant. I really have small little garden areas, as you can see from this narrow strip that I call My Front Cottage Garden. My Front Garden (in front of my cottage) is my Formal Cottage Garden. In the back I have the Back Cottage Garden (along the Fence) and the Fern Reserve by the fountain that wraps around the back of the cottage and in the entire back (down the slope) is the Woodland Garden. It’s easier for me this way! Cady
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You have a fabulous garden mine is just a large terrace which is very sunny and windy.
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A French terrace, I’m so jealous! Cady
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Don’t be!
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Garden looks lovely. I bet it’s a paradise in summer.
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I really love my little gardens! My neighbor has a fabulous big garden and I love nothing more than talking over the fence with her! Cady
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What a lovely introduction to your garden! I love the vivid colour of that Spiderwort – I will have to see if it grows here. Mind, my husband won’t thank you – he is the gardener and I’m always on at him to try new plants 😉
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I love plants and I always want my gardens to look like a proper English Garden and that just ain’t happenin.” So, now I only buy (well mostly) plants that will tolerate our hot and humid conditions. So, my garden looks like everyone elses here! Bummer! Cady
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Wow, what a busy person you are…..I’ll just sit back and enjoy my Peruvian organic espresso, or perhaps a Stockholm lungo…..
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I can’t have this sort of garden in Arizona but I do have lavender envy. When we got here last year, I tried growing French and English lavender and had no luck. This weekend when we took a road trip, we stopped by a lavender farm and the owner said to try Spanish lavender. So I have to hunt for that. Your garden’s beautiful. I’m just thankful that our rental house has lots of lovely bushes and cacti. Almost all the other rentals we saw had backyards that had absolutely nothing in them. Not one single growing thing or sometimes nothing at all. Here we can at least enjoy being out on our patio.
janet
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