The best plants for a Cottage Garden
Last Spring we finally finished what we call the “Cottage Garden” here at Bramblewood. What that means is we transformed the section of lawn in front of our house into a winding gravel path lined with stones, surrounded by large garden beds. Eventually, I hope that those beds will fill in with a somewhat wild,…
Roses: How to plant spectacular bare root blooms
If the streets of heaven aren’t lined with English roses, I’ll be genuinely shocked. Old-fashioned, cottage-style, English roses are just otherworldly. This explains why I fell head over heels for David Austin roses a while back when they were introduced to me. This post is…
What we’ve accomplished in 4 years on our property
Every Winter, as we sit in our cottage with rain running down the front windows and wind whistling under the front door, I tend to struggle with seasonal depression and discontent. I mean, the reason we purchased this home was…not exactly the house itself. I…
How do you beat garden burnout?
Hi everyone! It’s been a minute. This winter was…not kind to me. Or should I say I was not kind to me this winter. I let myself sink deep into some combination of an existential crisis and discouragement. With a sprinkling of frustration and a…
Books I read to survive the dregs of Winter
Well, the holidays are over and we are officially entering into that time of year when keeping a positive outlook can be…challenging at best. Here in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, we have a tendency to do the whole pea soup fog thing from November til March.…
Preserves from the garden you’ll actually eat
Have you ever spent hours peeling, blanching, pitting, saucing, cooking and canning something from your garden, only to watch it collect dust on your shelves all year long? I sure have. Many, many times in fact. It’s so easy to be tempted by pretty recipes…
