Favorite Places In My Garden

Welcome.  I am so happy that you stopped by.  My garden gate is always open for you to come in and sit and relax with a cup of tea while I share with you some of my favorite spaces in  my small space side garden that bring me joy every day.  I will also share how we are maintaining the garden with emergency water conversations in Southern California.

Bentley, my Studio Assistant, is waiting to assist with our little tour.  He is standing by our new Geranium flower bed that we planted with drought tolerant flowers.    

Martha Washington Geraniums in the bicycle basket need very little water and I love the way they grow and spill out  of the basket.

The side garden is 60 feet long  and narrow and  divided into "rooms".  I removed the grass in the side garden and added pea gravel, brick sidewalks and a concrete patio and left grass in the front yard.   I use containers for seasonal color. At least half of my containers are now planted with drought friendly Geraniums in white, pink, red and mauve and they seem to thrive with less water and fit well with my cottage style garden.  

The garden gate opens into the side garden - the mirror reflects the garden and adds dimension.

Due to the drought we are under a tight watering schedule for grass, trees and shrubs and are allowed to water on Tuesdays and Saturdays for an allotted number of minutes.  So far we have been able to keep the flowers in containers watered and healthy by using "gray" water from the kitchen and shower -we keep watering cans in the shower to catch rinse water and in the kitchen sink to catch water used to rinse fruits and vegetables  etc.- take short showers, turn off the water when brushing  teeth, use economy wash in the dishwasher and only wash full loads of laundry - it is amazing how precious water can be and how much water one can save when motivated by a drought.  

The red dutch door is one of my favorite things and it opens onto the little seating area. The shutters beside the front door are part of a wooden gate that I salvaged from a house being torn down - the tulips were already cut into the gate panels.

The seating area is opposite the front door - flag pillows and  bright vintage fabrics come out on Memorial Day and stay until Labor Day - the rug is an in/outdoor and most of the cushions are indoor/outdoor fabric that I switch around to change the look. The furniture is painted white to give a cottage feel and flow from one outdoor room to the other.

I painted the "faux" flag stone path to wind past the seating area to the potting area and reading nook. Blossom my vintage dress form overlooks the  nook - she likes to change her look on a whim. I also try and go vertical wherever I can to add interest and space in our small garden  - the stand with ivy is an example and I also use ladders and chairs for plant displays.

Blossom is now wearing a new hat and apron (courtesy of The Goodwill) and heart necklace made by a special friend. The mirror reflects the garden and adds dimension to the small space.

The faux flagstones lead to the back "Secret Garden" off the kitchen garden where we grow herbs for the kitchen.  I did not plant any vegetables this year due to the drought and wanted to save our water for the flowers and herbs.  I will share the secret garden with you on a later post.

                                


Thank you for stopping by.  I love hearing from you and sincerely appreciate your visits, e-mails, comments and those who follow my blog.

Have a lovely week.  Blessings, Erin

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God."  Matthew 5:9