A garden should be an enchanted haven away from the world outside. A space for climbing roses and shading trees. A place where one can grow and harvest from fruiting plants, and tend to the land. As lovely as that sounds, it's not always the most practical goal is all one has is just a few feet of land to work with.
Although my husband and I are fortunate enough to have a home with a large backyard, we still tackle any gardening job, in small, achievable stages. One of our first jobs was tending to the small rose garden beds that sit side by side on our walkway, which had grown tired and weathered from years of neglect.
I knew that come later that Spring, I wanted these two garden beds to look like they were thriving and alive in cottage blooms!
After high pressure hosing our concrete paving, we started by removing the rocks and timber walls from the garden beds. We turned the soil and prepared for planting.
After some nursery visits, we ended up taking home several pots of Avonview Lavender and Rosemary. The perfect companion plants that we knew would grow in abundance alongside our roses, and the kind that could be harvested for cooking and for the home.
Adding the wrought iron obelisks was a last-minute edition, but the perfect way to bring balance and harmony between the two garden beds. We planted climbing roses beneath and covered the soil with black bark. A rich contrast among the paved path, and the perfect backdrop to bring out the deep green and purple hues of the flora above.
Though the rest of our garden has a ways to go before it meets our country cottage vision, we are still taken aback by how much constant and little tendings to our plants, can do to bring ones dreams to fruition.
