Everyone has a style uniquely their own, some more unique than others. If you drive to the end of our lane, you will quickly notice that my style of gardening is like none other on our block…a mixture of flowers and cool stuff… thrifted, repurposed, upcycled, and vintage yard “art”. However, I think the neighbors are slowly catching on…baby steps!
The weather in our little haven of the world has been a little crazy this Spring. April was chilly and May is like a leaky faucet… rain, rain, and more rain. Fortunately, there have been enough nice days to get a little gardening done!
The garden is my happy place where I get to be creative. I am not a master gardener by any means; I simply love flowers and playing in the dirt. Our yard has many challenges, but I am not one to back away from a challenge, or two, or three….! For me, gardening is art, creating a haven of joy for myself and others. Here is a Spring tour of those creative endeavors. I hope you find joy!
Nothing draws you in like a bright blue arbor and winding brick path! Perfect for Easter and April visitors!Lots of pretty colors from the Phlox, Violas, Azaleas! I found a couple perennial Forget-me-not plants to put in gifted clay pots along the pathway.Notice the difference between April and May? The arbor is quickly filling in with Wisteria. I’m hopeful that this year we’ll finally have wisteria blooms.A few vintage pieces to add whimsy, color and charm to our cottage! The wheelbarrow needs flowers still; I prefer potted plants to prolong the life of the wheelbarrow. The lamp stand used to adorn a backyard garden, but it’s perfect for this echinacea patch. Soon, I’ll add a little flag for a patriotic touch.I have 5 wagons in the front yard, our welcome wagons. This flag was irresistible with the WELCOME message. Potted snapdragons add color in this space till the perennials bloom. I’m proud as a peacock over this beauty found in a heap of treasures headed to the dump. She lights up too!Doesn’t this beckon you to come sit for a bit?! I hope so! Every garden needs places to sit. I call this garden on the side of our house Wild Side garden. It was started with a few mixed packages of wildflower seeds 5 years ago. It is just beginning to bloom for this season. It blooms from late Spring through Fall. Sweet Williams, Coreopsis, Daisies, and Purple Coneflowers are some of the wild residents here.These Sweet Williams remind me of snowballs! The rusty headboard is a prized ReStore score.Sweet Williams don many beautiful Spring colors. I am always surprised that people are unfamiliar with them, considering how easy they are to grow. They self-sow as well. I still need to clean out the leaves from this garden to ensure seeds will find a new home, landing on soil.Sweet Williams look especially beautiful in bouquets. I save empty food jars… salsa, spaghetti sauce, lattes, etc. to use for backyard bouquets. I usually wrap the jar with ribbon or lace tied in a bow. They end up displayed on my kitchen window ledge for viewing while doing dishes… or given to friends and neighbors.Coreopsis is another favorite of mine. It too self-sows. Mine like to hang over the bed and sow future plants in the grass. I dig them up and transplant them. They are biennials, blooming in their second year.A potted petunia plant fits just right in this vintage Cyclone spreader. I never pay more than a few dollars at estate sales for goodies like this red cutie. Most people would never consider repurposing it into a planter. Isn’t it adorable?!Our welcome wagon is getting ready for a bit of red, white and blue. Memorial Day weekend will be here soon. This Geranium looks happy…so far. In past years, Geraniums didn’t like me. They had a change of heart after I bought a sad clearance Geranium for 25¢ and nursed it back to health.I enjoy collecting vintage fishing items. Occasionally, I find a bargain at an estate sale. I call this our Fishers of Men front porch display.This is a May view of our Fishers of Men container garden. It is such a fun little porch display! My friend and mentor, Lisa, made the Bible verse sign for me. It’s perfect! I keep it under the blue bench to protect it from rain. I like to add vintage items to my potted plants for unexpected garden whimsy. I prefer Violas to Pansies because they endure heat better, lasting longer into the summer.Every Spring I scoop up a bunch of hanging flower baskets on sale for around $5. They add a bit of color till the gardens are in full bloom. This purple Petunia fit right inside an old $1 fishing basket.Adding a thrifted teacup and saucer to these potted Violas is a charming cottage touch guaranteed to make others smile.This is my Shady Things Happen Here garden. We have struggled to grow grass in this area, so I am trying to convince my husband on the idea of covering it in mulch with a rock border. I think a dry creek would look beautiful to the right of the tree. Gardens often start with a vision and then somehow take on a mind of their own. I try to be attentive and listen. It’s less work in the end!This is my Pickin’ Patch. It is filled with vintage gardening tools that we picked on thrifting adventures… rakes, wheelbarrow, spreader, push mower, and even a plow, which you can’t see in this picture. There are a couple more rakes to the left, out of the picture, including my favorite red rake. I planted a mixed packet of seeds in this spot last year and am excited to see what blooms this year. A once clearance shelf Clematis now takes hold of an old mattress coil. Notice how it grabs onto the metal H as well. I call this garden area Tea for Two.This pale lavender bloom is a complete surprise, waiting a couple years before finally blooming. This is my idea of a flea market garden!A bistro table beside this garden is the perfect place to sip tea and capture the view!Splish Splash! This old claw foot tub found at ReStore is such a fun repurposed garden! Last Fall I planted bulbs and covered them with BBQ grills to keep the squirrels away. Tulip blooms in April and Alliums in May!We have a visitor! The rusty rake heads found on a FREE table at a garage sale keep the pesky squirrels from digging and destroying.At my previous home, purple Dame Rockets adorned my Spring garden. They are still one of my favorites. Two years ago I sowed quite a few seeds and was disappointed when nothing happened. This beauty surprised me this year. What a blessing!Purple Dame Rockets make such a pretty wildflower bouquet!I purchased the old rocker on clearance day at an estate sale. This is my new morning spot, amidst flowers, bees, butterflies and singing birds.Isn’t this old kerosene stove perfect for potted herbs?!!! We found it at a yard sale deep in the city. I’m smitten!The metal plant markers are gifts from loved ones. I like a little something extra paired with my plants.Basil is a wonderful herb to grow and tastes delicious in homemade pesto, a special treat made by my husband.This is our first year using pots for our tomato plants. The next door neighbor likes to spray poison all along the fence line regularly. Between the poison and competing with tall shady trees for light and nutrients, it was time for a change. So far so good!I’m not sure if spindles will turn out to be great tomato stakes, but for now they look awfully cute.Butter pats once belonging to my mom now adorn lovely lavender pots. Lavender is another wonderful herb to grow. I harvest and dry the flowers to use in homemade sachets for gifts.ReStore is my favorite place to find inexpensive pretty plates to repurpose and “plant” in the garden. Chipped teacups can be given a beautiful new life repurposed in the garden as whimsical decor.Hopefully, this will encourage the butterflies to come!Baby peppers! Hand-picking vegetables to use for meals is quite rewarding.Our backyard has been an uphill challenge to figure out a landscape plan because it is basically a hillside…. all uphill. We have 4 tiers of raised beds on one end. Tomatoes are on the top 4th tier this year. It’s the sunniest tier. This used to be home to lavender plants, but I suspect the neighbor’s poison spray took its toll. The 3rd tier is Chamomile. We started with just a few plants, and they spread their own seeds like crazy. This year I will help them out a bit, since the crop is less abundant. We like growing and harvesting Chamomile for a calming tea. They’re an adorable flower, like a miniature daisy.The 2nd tier is green beans and okra with Marigolds along the borders. The first tier is a cutting garden, just planted last week. I can’t wait for home picked bouquets. Did you notice our blue fence made from repurposed headboards? So fun!This triangle garden used to host a thriving strawberry patch… till the new neighbor started spraying poison. Only 3 plants survived, so I moved them to a new location. I planted wildflower seeds for this summer. Our hillside struggles to grow grass because of the dogs and shade. That convinced me to turn the hillside into a big garden. Slowly, this wild vine has taken root as a ground cover. I’ve let it grow to help with soil erosion. It can be invasive, so I have begun to cut it back in places to make room for flowers.The hillside has five paths, all designed by our dogs.😁 Rather than fight to keep them off the hill, I’ve compromised by letting them run up and down on their paths. Besides, I love a garden with all kinds of winding paths!This area is called Lover’s Lane, planted in mainly shades of purple and blue, our wedding colors.This is us…the metal version!The upcycled garden chair is a Curb to Cottage find, rescued from the curb before hauled to the dump.Live Forever is from my previous home, very dog proof! A Provincial Bouquet plate is planted in the whiskey barrel along with this sturdy plant.My husband goes to hardware stores quite frequently for supplies to use in restoring old cars. I like to come along and roam the garden center aisles, looking for pretty perennials that are new to me. This Lamium Purple Dragon is one of my latest finds. I hope it loves its new home!Catmint is happy in this spot, which means I’m happy too. I like plants that are low maintenance, definitely not fussy, and Catmint meets my expectations.
In case you didn’t notice, I like my gardens more on the wild side, with winding paths and unexpected pleasures around every twist and turn. Thanks for wandering around some of these Spring gardens with me. Hopefully, next time I will have a few more delightful surprises to share with you, as I work on our Secret Garden, Happy Hillside and Lemon Lane. I’m always creating, and the best part is opening the garden gate to bring joy to others!
Comfy Lane Cottage 