Bare Dirt to Cottage Garden (in Pictures)

Very cool, I marked that so I can study it later when I have more time! Thanks for sharing.

Yer ALL inspiring me. I thought what I wanted might be whatcha call a cottage garden. I hate the smell of roses. Great to see so many options! Have saved every foto in this thread to aid planning and purchasing. I've already picked out all the neighbors whose yards I want to drool in!

My maiden efforts are here:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1377513/

~S~

Awww, thanks poolrunning! That makes my day. Isn't it funny how we consider ourselves the beginners and everyone else must be the experts? lol. My garden is looking nice now, but I'm in for a shock come the first freeze - everything will die, because I've planted almost NO foundation plantings. All well - I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Things are looking pretty weedy around here, but I'll try to get a few new pics for a status update this evening!

P.S. I don't like roses either, although it's the look of the plant itself, not the smell of the flowers that get to me. The only roses I'm seriously considering are climbing roses, just because I do love a climbing plant.

This message was edited Oct 8, 2014 9:36 AM

Lol....well, I like plants that will work hard to establish themselves and tough it out with my mistakes and missed waterings.... pastorwifing can get you pretty tied up sometimes.

I wish I had a pic of the hanging portulaca garden I improvised in one rental place--- I used leftover sm hanging baskets suspended from string rigged in a diamond pattern, to screen off the nasty view of a junkyard-neighbor from a back porch that was, otherwise, a perfect settin' spot. Those baskets went bazerko for me. I'd only ever seen them used in-ground and knew zip about how to make a hanging basket thrive.... Poor things....I "splurged" on a whole flat of drooping, leggy plants.... one spindly little Ace Hardware pot per basket and KABOOM! They were unkillable and so pretty!

Roses want to be worshipped. I just want to sit in beauty, the wilder the better!


This message was edited Oct 8, 2014 1:47 PM

This message was edited Oct 8, 2014 1:49 PM

Haha I want to "sit in beauty, the wilder the better" too - I couldn't agree more!
And you have summarized my gardening philosophy. I call it "Sink or Swim" gardening. I'll put you in the ground and water you periodically, the rest is up to you! =) It's survival of the fittest around here. LOL

That diamond shaped string thing sounds really neat. I've considered doing the same thing behind the bench where I read my Bible in the mornings. It's blazin' hot there in the sun if I ever want to sit out there later in the day.

The plan for that pallet is one of those succulent pallet gardens. Probably not going to happen till next year, though!

This message was edited Oct 8, 2014 1:37 PM

Pallet garden? Say more.... have pallets!

Here's my friend's - she gave me the idea. Love her blue!

Another I found on the interwebs for inspiration!

Just search Google images for "pallet succulent wall" and you'll see pics of what I'm thinking!

This message was edited Oct 8, 2014 4:10 PM

Ohhhh mmmmmyyyyyyyy......

Have you seen the pix of bare fence I have to play with?

For my patio I will just hike my pallets above dog height on attached 4x4's and lean right up on their fence! If the weight us excessive I can always set a tripod leg out of sight.

Thanks!!!!

What veggies would... spinach!

I think I did, but remind me. Post a pic of your fence!

I think the pallet will be VERY heavy once filled with dirt. Even the pallet itself without anything in it is very heavy for me to lift.

I think that'd be a great spinach-spot!

Bare...

Pallets on wall. Pallets at angle to wall. Pallets leaning on each other as tents. Pallets as "room" dividers.....

Love it!
Pallet is wood...fence is wood...nail those suckers straight into it!

No can do. Neighbor fence. Not cooperative since I had to put my foot down on her son using our yard as his personal playground. I'm a nice lady but visiting my garden is different from kicking new mulch all over the place with his "cowboys n indians" fantasy play and three big mean boys. His friends used to live in this house, so he had a hard time giving up the yard-- but enough got to be too much.

So I think it's ok to lean things on it if they have their own tripod support, but am not going to fasten anything to it.

This message was edited Oct 9, 2014 10:29 PM

This message was edited Oct 9, 2014 10:30 PM

Yep, you're right Susan. Shouldn't attach to neighbor's fence. Especially since things are not real "warm and friendly" between you & them.

I am thinking of backing the pallets with plastic-lined masonite tho. Don't trust fabric to hold all that once it rots. Do em once and for all.

That sounds like that should last as long as the pallets do. No pallet is going to last forever but hey, we move on to new ideas and projects before they rot out anyhow, right?

Yup!

A pallet moldering into the ground is scenic anyway, right? =)

This message was edited Oct 11, 2014 7:12 AM

;-) I think the plan would be to replant it, for that last time when its demise approaches, with choking, smothering vines.... to complete its transition to compost. Something to suck it all back into the microscopic food chain!

And then chuck it all, including all the dead greenery, into the bottom layer of a raised bed, lasagna style. The sz of a pallet lends itself well to an accessible bed, perhaps with a climbing tower set into it.

This message was edited Oct 11, 2014 7:13 AM

Hehehehe.... ya, that!

Hey Wifeygirl-- when I saw this elsewhere I thought of your style.... I can see this outdoors at my place too.

This message was edited Dec 3, 2014 2:45 PM

THAT is way cool!!!

Hey girlies, look I finally pulled the trigger!!

Sorry I was MIA for awhile. I'm a fair-weather gardener. =/ Poolrunning, LOVE that vertical garden pic you posted - you're right, something like that would totally be my style!

This message was edited Mar 14, 2015 3:16 PM

Here are some updated photos of the garden as it stands now!

I absolutely love your bird in the birdbath! It's coming along... thanks so much for sharing your pictures!

I have some HUGE cement stepping stones that are about 24 x 24, the cement was poured in place. seeing your small blocks placed in your flower bed made me think to mention them. I still have circle molds for stepping stone, garden bench & even a bird bath but haven't done anything with them in while now. Maybe this year?

I collected a free ceramic birdbath I'm going to clean and spray paint bright pink, maybe purple since everything planted in the "circle" so far is pink . Something to add to the flower bed while I wait for the flower bed matures. You know how first year flower beds are, skinny and kinda bare!

Hey, Psych! I love your little picket fence. You're right, a birdbath or other focal point in front of it would be so cute!

My stepping stones have kind of a funny story behind them. They were all clustered together into steps that led back to the faucet. But all of the neighborhood kids love coming and playing in our yard, and they kept stepping on my baby plants. My own kids are pretty good about not stepping on anything because they know how much work I put into the garden, but the neighborhood kids kept tromping on them no matter how much I warned them. A few weeks ago, though, I noticed they loved using the stepping stones, so I spread out my stepping stones and said the magic words: "Hot Lava!" That was all it took - now whenever they play, they hop from one to another, and my babies don't get smooshed! =D

Photos:
1. A last, mournful look at our lush green grass. With the drought here in CA, it's gotta go. We're not feeding it anymore, so it will get progressively worse as our brutal summer hits. =( We're planning to put up a little sign in the grass "Brown for California!"

2. The narcissus on either side of my path NEVER BLOOMED. I've read about it and I guess that means that I cut down the foliage too soon last year. I'm hoping that if I let it stay until it browns this year, I'll actually get a show next year. Yes, my dog seems to think this is a photo shoot. =) The shrub in the pot is a Sweet Tea Olive, with a lovely smell. I'm so excited to make my garden a all-senses experience!

3. The Mexican Primrose are VERY happy, and taking over the lawn even! LOL. I'm so excited to have a field of nodding pale pink flowers! Somewhere under there is my salvia. We'll see if the primrose has completely crowded it out...

4. I don't know what these little purple guys are. I got a pot with them in it from a nursery that was closing, and when I asked what was in it the lady said "oh, this and that!" LOL. The pot sat on my step for a year, then I planted it in the ground. Apparently while on my step it reseeded EVERYWHERE. I have these little guys coming up in the most impossible places! Good thing I like their little blooms and heart-shaped leaves.

5. I didn't know that Lobelia reseeded itself! So excited for my corner clump to go vibrant blue!
Also, these are Forget-Me-Nots that I scattered seed for last season and...ironically...forgot all about! LOL!


This message was edited Mar 21, 2015 3:05 PM

Too funny... you forgot the "forget-me-nots" and your dog sure did think it was a photo op for him/her!

Very Pretty so far. Fun too isn't it? I've just got in some zinnia seed myself-so you are inspiring me with them. Haven't planted any in many years. Had a few things die out this winter and thought- Zinnias!

It's so fun, Ginger! I'm loving it.

I haven't gotten my zinnias planted yet, but they sure are a must-have for me now. That glorious riot of color just can't be beat!

Please post some garden pics for me! I'd love to see your garden. =D

Here is the Plants vs. Zombies garden!

This is a project for my kids - they are totally into the video game Plants vs. Zombies, and once when a question during school asked, "If you could plant anything, what would you plant?" they immediately got all excited and started describing the Plants vs. Zombies garden they'd plant based on the video-game. As they were talking, I was staring out the window at the empty square of weeds outside our school area, and lightening struck!

In the back is sunflowers (the source of energy in the game), then tomato bush plants and carrots, then watermelon, then in the front purple basil (which my son calls "Poison Plant"). They weeded the whole area themselves, dug up the earth, outlined it with rocks, and planted their plants. A few sprouts have come up already, and they are so excited!

Plus, I'll treasure that sign forever as a special memory when they're grown and gone. =D

You asked Caitlin-hard to choose just 5- all from a few years ago- before a major illness kept me out of my garden for over 5 years. Am having fun redoing it, though. BTW-it's 15 yrs old and has plants up to 27 years old from past gardens.

Oh myyyyyyyy.... how beautiful! 5 years out of your garden probably nearly killed you! Us gardeners don't like to see our handiwork get neglected.

I LOVE, Ginger! You're a gardener after my own heart! So glad to hear that you are feeling better and back into your garden again.

P.S. Who said anything about only FIVE pictures???? MORE! MORE! =D

The Corsican Mint is starting to fill in really well!

This is July 2014 and March 26, 2015.

I really enjoy this little part of my garden. It looks so sweet, and smells so neat, that I have every visitor to my house down on hands and knees rubbing their fingers over the mint and smelling them! LOL

Caitin, I love the mint in between. It gets too hot and humid here for Corsican mint, for anything that tiny really.
Pat, you have no idea how hard it was watching so many plants lost to my illness. Pain? Phooy- you learn to live with that- but watching your hubby weed eat down hundreds of prized plants? Now that I grieved over big time. Watching teens from a church youth group proudly show how they weeded your wall for you and trying not to cry at all that lovely slow growing "pink Chintz" Thyme thrown in with all the weeds. Well- God gave me grace so I didn't hurt their feelings. But that was a hard pill to swallow.
I'm at the point now I just count my blessings with every plant that did survive hubby, teens, drought, weeds and still keep blooming. Believe it or not- Outside of my daylilies and La. Iris, Roses proved toughest of all. They are own rooted.
here are some of my wall pics: The first one shows my lovely thyme. I was so proud last year of plating and getting to bloom nasturums ( don't like heat) I actually drove down to that spot , stepped out, plated them and drove back into carport. I think planting something last spring was a real turning point for me. This year The sedums are filling back in ( teens) and the mini roses survived their "haircut from hubby", I planted violas , snaps and sweet Williams to fill in last fall and the Rain Lilies have really multiplied while I was gone. They must have been dormant still when the teens came. As soon as it's all blooming I'll post pics.

I can so relate to trying hard to not cry when someone "helps" you by unknowingly destroying a prize possession. Only kindness and enormous self control can prevent the natural responses! Bless them all for their good intentions and your endurance. What a tender image of you driving down to
touch your blooming nasturtiums. I was under the impression they loved dry heat?

What is in the foremost corner of the first picture? Looks like the edge of a statue? I love your little seated fairy. We had 2 small retaining walls and chose to tear them out. The wasps kept invading the crevices and making their homes. After myself and different quests getting stung, we said enough!

Oh Ginger, I totally know the feeling! Over-zealous helpers are the worst! LOL. My kiddos are SO happy to help mom with the gardening, that I have to (try to) overlook all the damage that the "helping" causes. I have to keep in mind that I want to make gardening into a positive "spend time with mom" thing, rather than a "mom gets annoyed every time I step on a plant" thing.

Even my gardener, after I point out plants he's supposedly not to touch, pulls at least something real every time he comes. Nothing quite like lovingly coaxing a plant from seed, watching it grow and be about to flower, and then discovering that it's been weeded away! I've gotten to the point that I won't let him weed anymore. It's just too painful!

I love the Corsican mint, although I failed to water it for a couple of days in a row and the edge of it by the concrete burned. Oops! I've been watching the bottom left corner with interest, thinking that it will fill in this growing season...and today WE HAVE CONTACT! =)

Now that I've cleared all of that Verbena out of the way, the Creeping Jenny coming out of the pot is much easier to see. It's so happy and has ranged all over the place trying to find places to peep up into the sun. I think it's growth habit isn't as pretty, though, because I didn't keep it clear. Usually it grows more dense. I'm going to keep the Verbena out of the way from now on, and hopefully it'll look a little denser in the future.

P.S. In the top corner of the mint picture you can see it - the first of my Johnny Jump-Ups have jumped up! =D

This message was edited Apr 1, 2015 7:21 AM

Eww Pat, wasps in the crevices would get to me, too! Once I couldn't figure out where the wasps were coming from, and it turned out that they had made their nest in the birdhouse hanging from our tree!

Phase 1 of the Kill-the-Lawn Project is complete! (Add flowers in the wheelbarrow to give the yard a pretty focal point.)