My cottage garden

is in it's second summer.  It's looking pretty good although there are still a few bare spots.  Three weeks of 100 degree temperatures have made it challenging too.  Never the less, I love it. 

You want to take a stroll through?

At our old house, we had landscaped beds with summer annuals.  It was always pretty but I have found  perennial gardening completely different.  It has a carefree casual feel, I think.  Sweet surprises await you every  few days as something new comes into bloom.  Other flowers are going out of bloom too meaning not everything looks lovely at the same time but I find that I enjoy the constant change.

It's a work in progress.  Let's not compare it to Country Gardens just yet.

I painted the little bluebird house blue in hopes that the sparrows would realize it wasn't meant for them.  They didn't get the hint.

Just a few of my favorites are purple cone flower, verbena on a stick, russian sage, and of course, the lilies.  My favorite lily is Fairy Tale pink.

 The knockout roses scattered throughout have created a colorful base to plant around. You can't go wrong with those ~ no bugs, no deadheading, no work ~ just constant flowers. 

The wisteria is just getting started.  It's about a foot away from the side of the garage so it won't get "on" the house.  See the little periwinkles that sprang up behind the rock?  I love it when things like that happen on their own.

This year I opted for elephant ears and white lantana in the old water trough that sits in the middle of the garden.   In another week they will be cascading over the sides.

And the garden goat ~ you never know where he will turn up.  He moves around on a regular basis.

And that's it ~ my little cottage garden.  You will find me wandering and working there pretty much everyday.  Join me to smell the flowers any time.

And don't miss my favorite flower of the week in the sidebar this summer.