My Flower Garden

Creating a Flower Garden 🌻 I love flowers and have always been enchanted with the French and English cottage gardens that are filled with a fanciful assortment of elegant flowers, that blend whimsically to form a harmonious ensemble of cheerful hues and aromatic fragrances, that delight the senses and soul!  A few years ago, I began a quest to create my own cottage flower garden, but living in southern California, it was important to plant both native and drought-tolerant flowers that attracted pollinators. such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. 

Research and Planning 🌻 With a very small budget and mostly my own labor, I knew this was going to be a long project that needed to be completed in phases.  First, I did a lot of research. I read gardening books from the local library, attended free gardening classes, and visited lots of local plant nurseries to look at all the different flowers.  There was so much helpful information and inspiration to motivate me.  I was also very lucky to have a neighbor who was a retired gardener, with a beautiful rose garden, who shared endless amounts friendly wisdom and advise on gardening.  

Selecting Flowers to Plant 🌻 At first, my plan was to have a simple garden. So, I started planting white and lavender lantanas to create ground cover.  I was so enchanted with this flower that I wrote an article about lantanas last summer called The Flower with the Everlasting Bloom.  Then I filled the space between the lantanas with French lavender, daisies, California poppies, and primrose.  For the edge of the garden, I planted taller flowering shrubs such as iceberg rose,  tree mallow, and Rose of Sharon. Then I planted two flowering trees called Angel's Trumpet that bloom these beautiful hanging flowers most of the year.  Recently, I started planting bulb flowers, like daffodils and tulips. All are drought tolerant, love sunshine, and attract pollinators. 

Decorating the Garden 🌻 In addition to the plants, I decorated the garden with bird baths, bird houses, hummingbird feeders, and used pavers to create pathways and boarders within the garden.  The pathways look charming and are functional pathways to water and prune the flowers  The stone borders give the garden a vintage look and help keep the water and dirt within the garden. And the bird baths, bird houses, and hummingbird feeders add charm and a water source for the  birds and pollinators. I also built an obelisk for a climbing rose!    

Watering the Garden🌻 Something I didn't realize when I started the cottage flower garden is that even drought tolerant plants need a lot of water when they are planted to grow roots and adapt in their new environment, which could take up to a year.  Also, due to a limited budget, I didn't install an irrigation system, so I water all my plants with a hose, but this lets me control where and how much water I use.  But, somedays I do wish I had an irrigation system to schedule and automate the watering and I will eventually install a drip irrigation system. 

Tips for Starting a Flower Garden 🌻

🌻Do lots of research and planning before you start. There are a lot of free resources in libraries, local nurseries and the Internet. 

🌻Choose plants that adapt well to your climate and soil because these plants will flourish and grow best in your garden.

🌻Invest in gardening tools and supplies (e.g., hats, gloves, gardening boots, hoses, shovel, rake, watering cans, pruners, mulch, fertilizer). Just like any other craft, having the right tools will make gardening easier. 

🌻Choose earth-friendly pest and weed control.  Gardens and pollinators flourish in gardens with no toxic chemicals  and there are many earth-friendly alternatives to control pests and weeds.  For example, lady bugs are excellent for pest control and can be purchased at local nurseries.  For removing weeds, old-fashion weed pulling is the most effective method, but some non-toxic household remedies such as white vinegar or a water & salt solution, can also help kill weeds. 

🌻Gardening is on ongoing project that needs time and attention.  After the flowers are planted, gardens need watering, pruning, trimming, weeding, fertilizing, mulching, replanting....

🌻Have fun and be patient.  Flowers take time to grow and get established, but with proper maintenance and care, they will grow bigger and create more beautiful blooms each year. 

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