my 'new' cottage garden (img hvy)

14 years ago

I'm reposting this over here thanks to Renee! Hope that's ok!

I live in Southern California near the Antelope Valley. (SouthWest zone 18, zone 9-10) We started with a dirt lot and had some landscapers help us put this garden in at the end of December based on some sketches I did. I wanted to go with a cottage style,... but to try to -mostly- use plants that were friendly with our area and didn't use a ton of water. There were a few plants I was stubborn on (like the sakura and roses).

I'm sticking mainly with light colors... like light pinks, pale yellow, white (roses, daisies, etc.). With accents of dark wine (a few dark roses that aren't blooming yet) and lavender/blue (lavender, wisteria, delphinium)

The roses are mostly David Austin or antique roses, though I do have one Hybrid Tea (Tiffany). The patio is set broken concrete with whooly thyme growing in the cracks.

My husband mowing the lawn in his suit. haha. {{gwi:57687}}

This is what my backyard looks like right now! (In case you're curious this is what the yard looked like in January)

RIGHT SIDE:

Weeping sakura in front, sakura in the back... morea, delphinium, foxglove, wistera, cosmos and penstemon.

{{gwi:57691}}

MIDDLE

Mostly roses, lavendar (french and spanish) and prostrate camellia. There's some santa barbara daisy and penstemon, too.

{{gwi:57692}}

LEFT SIDE

more roses, crepe myrtle, irises, etc...! (You can see this is the back left corner of the yard... at the end of the stepping stones, I'm going to put an arbor of some type...)

{{gwi:57693}}

LEFT-LEFT SIDE

rosemary, morea, irises, etc..

{{gwi:57694}}

This is the back left corner... I put in a couple clematis near the climbing roses. The idea is to add some kind of arbor inbetween them so that the purple clematis and the pale roses can climb over it. I still haven't decided on an arbor yet. (AGH)

{{gwi:57695}}

Whooly thyme in the concrete cracks:

{{gwi:663000}}

The back sakura when blooming:

{{gwi:265181}}

the weeping sakura

{{gwi:623120}}

my mom bought me a few of these little toadstools for my herb pots. They're made by a local socal artisan. They're so cute! My mom really loves stuff like this. The herbs are mint, italian basil, chives, sage, lemon thyme and probably something else I'm forgetting.

{{gwi:57689}}

These are treasure boxes! I've always loved them. They're so weird and pretty.

{{gwi:57690}}

One of the clematis I put in this past weekend! This is Silver Moon.

{{gwi:57696}}

the position it's in on the sideyard (the plants are centered on the house windows in the kitchen and dining room) It's with Star Jasmine.

{{gwi:57697}}

some kind of daisy I got this weekend. I can't remember the name. but I really really love this little daisy.

{{gwi:57699}}

My mom brought me irises from her garden (and her mother's garden) over Christmas break.

{{gwi:57700}}

Here's one of the blooming ones!

{{gwi:57701}}

Here's a few of my baby roses:

Great Maiden's Blush Alba

{{gwi:207568}}

Belle Story:

{{gwi:207574}}

Raubritter

{{gwi:207571}}

Madame Alfred Carriere

{{gwi:207569}}

Lady Banks

{{gwi:663008}}

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (13)

lavender_lass
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Aimeekitty- Your garden is beautiful! I love the plants you've chosen and the design. Wonderful roses, and the clematis, iris, star jasmine (wish I could grow that here year round) and that daisy is so cute. All the herbs and other plants...and the stepping stones...very nicely done :)
tammyinwv
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Absolutely beautiful. Cant wait to see everything mature and in bloom.
Tammy
Related Discussions
new to gardening...heres my small garden
Q
Comments (8)
Can't tell what zone you are in...but here in Zone 8 artichokes are perennials and grow to quite large bushes. So beware to give room for this. Also, raddishes are difficult to transplant. They emerge and grow so rapidly that they should be directly sown in the ground
...See More
photos/state of rose bushes around the yard img hvy
Q
Comments (8)
I think generally Pemberton's musks like some bits of sun, they just do not seem to be very happy with being fried (and do not like being in too wet clay, but I don't think it is your problem, over here though I have a new mini pool in a place where we dug a hole for a new tree...). Felicia and other Pemberton's were not very fast growers for me, they grew quite a bit, but nothing like huge canes all directions kind of thing. What does help though is alfalfa tea. The stinky stuff is really magic, I gave it to all non-growers and went away for a week on a holiday trip - came back home and ta-daaa, good 30 inches of new growth on plants that did nothing the whole summer. Banana peels seem to be good thing too for the canes, especially for the spindly ones (only the peel, not a whole fruit).
...See More
My US and UK cottage gardens. Pics
Q
Comments (26)
There are instructions on the 'Gallery' pages, which you can access on the start page for this forum. If you plan to post lots of individual photos here, you may want to put them in the Gallery. The easier way, meantime, is to post the URL for your album page at photobucket, in the box below where you post your message. Give the link any name you choose Make sure that you have clicked on 'Account Options' at the upper right and then click on 'Public' under Album Settings. You may want to make separate albums for your personal photos that you want to keep private and mark these albums Private. Nell
...See More
What can you tell me about my house? (img heavy)
Q
Comments (53)
Katie, your house is waaay cool. I live in a house about 10 years older than yours, and I'd like to share what I've learned: The dark wood molding, with its many imperfections, has grown on me in the year we've been here. The dings that drove me nuts a year ago are now character and patina, and I NEVER thought I'd see it that way. I have had great luck with Farrow and Ball colors. Dorset cream in living room, mouse's back (unbelievable color, you really have to see it with the old wood to appreciate it) in the family room, and light stone in the dining room. I also have farrow's cream in the hall and stairway, but i think it was a mistake; dark wood can take much darker colors than you think, and they all look several shades lighter up on the walls. There seem to be a lot of strong opinions about custodianship, which may or may not be off-putting to you (disclaimer: I've got a foot in the custodian camp too). But look at it this way: from a resale standpoint, as the years go by, a well-maintained older home with original details will pull ever and ever higher premiums from buyers, so you will reap the rewards of your "custodianship" in very tangible terms when the time comes. So, to me, self-interest and good custodianship actually align. Also, you will sometimes save money while you're living there if you have chosen period appropriate finishes, materials, colors, and decor: because they are timeless. I was over on the kitchens forum, and people were moaning about their "so-80's kitchen" and how to make it less dated. If you do things to the original decade of your house, they will never look dated: only timeless. You will never need to redecorate when styles change unless YOU want too. Now that's freedom! Finally, I found, and you may find too, that the styles appropriate to your house grow on you. When we bought our house, the first thing we did was remove the bronze statue from our newel post so we wouldn't clock ourselves when we moved in. We NEVER intended to put it back up, and almost gave it away to a neighbor. Well, it has grown on me, and I look forward to the day that I put the other "lady of the house" back on the newel post. (Dh would probably tell you are days that he wants to screw my b... on there--naw we usually get along lol!) So, enjoy!!!!
...See More
hosenemesis
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Nice rose choices. Nice husband choice, too.
organic_kitten
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Very pretty. You've chosen some of my favorite plants.. I can't wait to see it mature.
kay
Cher
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I'm glad you posted here since I rarely look in the other areas. You really put together a lovely area.
Cher
natal
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I can't believe he didn't even take off his tie! ;)

Keep the pics coming as things mature.
aimeekitty
Original Author
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Aw, thanks so much you guys! I'm so glad you like it! I'm hoping as it matures that it turns into big mounds of flowers.

DS: You guys are funny. The other roses I have are:
Sombrielle
William Shakespeare 2000
Jude the Obscure
Mortimer Sackler
cl. Eden
Compte de Chambord
Reine des Violettes
Sydonie
Gloire de Dijon

Most of them are just babies, though! But the Lady Banks and Belle Storey are a little bigger (1-5gal)

Aimee
lgslgs
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Your cute little daisy looks like it's a feverfew. Very pretty plant. :)

Lynda
Thyme2dig NH Zone 5
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
WOW! Beautiful garden and what an amazing backdrop you have. You have the perfect amounts of lawn, patio and garden. Very nice!
holleygarden Zone 8, East Texas
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Very nice design, and I can imagine how beautiful it will be in a couple of years when your roses have matured. Glad you posted. Keep us updated. :)
memo3
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Very pretty garden! It will look amazing when the roses fill in and bloom well. Do you have any plans for future additions to the garden?

MeMo
aimeekitty
Original Author
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thank, Lynda! :D Maybe it is!

Thanks you guys!
I like the hill behind our house. It gives us a little more privacy and the HOA planted some nice drought tolerant plants back there. Some bloom a little, too, which is nice.

I'm not really sure what to do next, because it's all so new to me! So I guess I'm kind of waiting to see how things fill in and how I feel about it.

I'm welcome to suggestions if you guys have any.

The only main plan is to add in an arbor.... which I'm still debating about that. I wanted a white one with a curved top and a bench. I was looking at the ones at Sam's... (vinyl Vienna Arbor) but dont' know if it warrants a membership just to buy an arbor. :)

Though I thought it might be nice to add in some annuals to get a little more color this year while other things are growing in?

My mom is sending me some more irises (purple ones). On that left-left side area... and maybe on the extreme right, I'd love to have some more significant patches of irises. I know they'll multiply after a while, but I'd love to have some more of them now (and I can always give some away to friends later when they multiply). :)

I'd also like to put in some more catmint, salvia and daisies... and I want to get some wild violets from my friend's yard. We have some hummingbirds around here, so that's why I'd love to get some more salvia, even if they aren't my favorite color (I don't really want too much hotpink or bright red, but I'll sacrifice for them. I was considering adding some more morea... but now I was thinking spuria iris instead (Renee suggested them). I read up a little bit about them online and it looks like they might do well in our area. We have really hot dry summers and I have clay, alkaline soil. I think the high spikey shape is pretty on the sides and backs to contrast with the roses and other things.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sam's Vienna Arbor
organic_kitten
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I love pretty arbors, and that one qualifies. They add so much to a garden.

my 'new' cottage garden (img hvy)

Comments (13)

lavender_lass

tammyinwv

Related Discussions

hosenemesis

organic_kitten

Cher

natal

aimeekitty
Original Author

lgslgs

Thyme2dig NH Zone 5

holleygarden Zone 8, East Texas

memo3

aimeekitty
Original Author

organic_kitten

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

my 'new' cottage garden (img hvy)

Comments (13)

Related Discussions

aimeekittyOriginal Author

aimeekittyOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

aimeekitty
Original Author

aimeekitty
Original Author