Cottage Gardens

This is an old post from last year but I'm finding it inspiring again so thought I would share...

Now that the sun is finally shining I am loving being outside. Cottage gardens are so inspiring to me. I found these photos and info. from This Old House

*Unique Elegance*

Classic cottage gardens—like the houses that give them their name—tend to be compact, informal, and highly individualistic. Located close to the front or back door, traditional examples display a harmonious mix of annuals, perennials, roses, shrubs, vines—even vegetables—in neatly tended arrangements designed to delight, rather than impress.

*Follow The Brick Road*

Bricks laid in a diagonal herringbone pattern form a curving path dividing two wide borders. A hipped-roof birdhouse draws the eye upward.

*Structural Grace*

A classic rose-covered arbor and meticulously trimmed privet hedge provide architectural structure in a small yard overflowing with pink and purple flowering plants, including lush hydrangeas, old-fashioned garden phlox (foreground), and a wide window box filled with sun-loving annuals.

*Made For Shade*

Belgian block frames a shade-tolerant border composed of 'Anabelle' hydrangeas, hostas, and ferns.

*Summer Romance*

Under an arching weeping willow, a row of late-flowering pink and white rose of Sharon shrubs—planted closely together to create a privacy screen—gives this late-summer garden romantic appeal.

*Brilliant Border*

Favorite cottage-garden perennials—including black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia), pink-flowering sedum, and pale-blue delphinium—create a vibrant border around a carefully tended lawn.



*Green Peace*
Greenery—in plants and painted trim—evokes a sense of tranquility in a cedar-shingled cottage's low-maintenance, cobblestone courtyard.



*Casual Classic*

A Greek Revival dwelling gets a down-to-earth garden that takes the edge off its formality.

*Country Charm*

A favorite of butterflies, golden Rudbeckia grabs attention in a casual country garden punctuated by a compact Japanese maple, neatly trimmed boxwood, swordlike iris foliage, and a rose-covered arbor. Inorganic elements—from the stonework to the timeworn mailbox and lozenge-shaped window on the back door—add immeasurably to the simple yard's undeniable charms.




*Daring Hues*

A row of hydrangeas makes a bold impact in a narrow patch of land.




*My Blue Heaven*

Easily grown from seed, 'Heavenly Blue' morning glories twine about a white-picket fence, their heart-shaped foliage providing a visual metaphor of simplicity and contentment.




*Splashes Of Color*

Tall cottage classics like lemon-yellow daisies and fragrant white phlox stand out against the silvered shingles of a cedar-shake outbuilding.

*Uniformity Is Boring*

In the best cottage gardens, diversty reigns, with a wide range of roses, annuals, perennials, and shrubs sharing the limelight. Here, left to right, hostas, statuesque eupatorium, black-eyed Susans, snowy phlox, and eight-foot-tall hollyhocks (nearly gone to seed) harmonize in the yard of a rose-covered retreat.


*Enchanting Entry*

Billowing pink hibiscus blossoms greet visitors by the front door.




*Color Study*

Limiting the palette to two or three hues—in this case, pink, blue, and cream—keeps the mix harmonious.



Hope you enjoyed those beautiful photos. Have a blessed day!

Nora

I read these words today and they spoke to me...

"Go up through her vine rows and destroy, but make not a full end. Strip away her branches, for they are not the Lords". Jeremiah 5:10 ESV

Your experience is not about what's right in front of you.

There is always a purpose and it's always something more eternal.

Resisting only increases your discomfort, but it does not stop the process.

Face the happenings of life with faith that God is not only in control, but He is also good.

Faith gives you hope.

Lack of faith steals your hope and leaves you feeling like a victim.

Victims have a faith problem.

Buildings built on faulty foundations eventually come down.

Poorly organized spaces have to be redone.

If you want it to be better, then it will have to get worse.

Everything is ripped up and pulled out into the open.

With everything displaced, you can see things clearly.

If you feel displaced, ripped up and pulled out, don't be afraid.

This isn't for your end, this is for your new beginning.

Down

I am on a mission to find an amazing down comforter.

I will splurge if I find the perfect one but am hoping not to.

I have read that real goose down is better than synthetic.

I need to make sure that it is all white with no colored labeling or damask stripes. My duvet is very light weight and designs can be seen through it.

Overstock has a ton to choose from at pretty good deals.

Anyone have suggestions or tips?

Thanks!

Blessings,

Nora

Inspire

in·spire

 

1.

to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence

2.

to produce or arouse (a feeling, thought, etc.)

3.

to fill or affect with a specified feeling, thought

4.

to influence or impel

Today I'm inspired.

I'm inspired by student athletes who are deaf, travel an hour to and from school each day for a better education, work their hardest at their studies and sports, all while having a good attitude.

Today I am inspired by a student athlete who no longer lives with her parents, but with her sister an hour away from school and still manages to get up early on a Saturday morning to ride the bus to and from softball practice, all while having a good attitude.

Today I am inspired to have a good attitude.

What inspires you?

Blessings,

Nora

all images weheartit

Oasis

I'm on a mission to create a calming oasis for my bedroom....

This quote is my new theme for decorating.

I just ordered this Rachel Ashwell bedding from Target.

It's currently sold out, but I found it on ebay for a pretty good deal.

This is the style of my headboard.

The fabric I used inside the framing is actually burlap.

I want to buy lamps similar to this and get burlap shades to match my headboard.

I found this dresser on etsy.

It's sold but I absolutely love the cool blue color and hopefully will be able to find one/make one similar to this.

Now I just need a good wall color....

Blessings,

Nora