Specialty Gardening: New cottager in the south..., 0 by wrightie

wrightie wrote:
So Pagan, what'd you end up doing (or deciding) with your cottage garden? :~)

Have you decided on a basic design for the beds? When we first bought our piece o' clay (with nothing growing on it) 3 years ago, I marked out the shapes of my beds then just started heaping horse manure, wood chips, layers of newspaper, leaves, etc. etc. on top of it. By the following year I was ready to start planting, but I'll continue to throw a few inches of compost on top each year. We're getting there, slowly, but it's definitely improving. How's that horse manure pile coming along? Those guys better be earning their keep...

I'm turning my backyard into a cottage garden... I'd say that about 70% of my plants are perennials, with a few woody shrubs here and there to anchor, plus there are three huge existing oak trees which offer vertical interest and a canopy. I was dropping ridiculous amounts of $$ on plants from the garden center, so last year was the first year that I started perennials from seed. This year, I went High Tech (thank you, DG http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/683246/ ) and put together a system of grow lights for my seedlings, so now I've got an obscene number - and variety - of perennials started in my cellar. This pic' shows the nuts & bolts layout of the beds, but I'll probably tweak them a bit this year. Note the stall bedding near the back fence, near the compost bins. That's where I plant my veggies. By summer, the veggie garden and compost are hidden from view.

Edited to note: DUH, this is ~not~ the photo that I meant to post. Sorry, lol.



This message was edited Mar 5, 2007 8:36 PM