After months of pool days, bees feasting on flowers, and sweetly scented afternoons, the cooler days of fall have arrived. The hydrangeas are changing colour, the air is crisp, and my little cottage-style garden is looking a little wild around the edges.
Over the past few years, I've been creating that romantic cottage-garden feel with hydrangeas, boxwoods, lavender, roses, peonies, and a magnolia. I've given this yard lots of TLC (you should see the before and after!), and we're now miles away from the garden we started with. I'm having such a good time making it Emm!
Ella Fitzgerald playing in the background, Hunter boots, Barbour vest, cute gardening gloves, a wheelbarrow… that's all it takes to feel very Martha chic, pretending I own acres of beautiful gardens.
I don't, of course. My yard is small and cozy, and I love nothing more than tending to it. :-)
It's just such a chic way to spend an afternoon. Never mind that I'm mostly pulling weeds and spreading mulch. LOL!
But closing the garden is always bittersweet. It'll be months before I can get my hands back in the soil and watch everything come to life again. Which is precisely why I love growing winter blooms indoors. A girl needs her flowers, IYKYK.
First, though, there's a little work to be done.
A Little Autumn Garden Cleanup
I start by pulling weeds, clearing away debris, and giving the beds a good tidy-up. Nothing too manicured, of course. A little perfectly imperfect wildness is part of the cottage-garden charm!
Next comes a fresh layer of mulch, particularly around my newer plants, followed by burlap protection for a few exposed shrubs and my beloved magnolia. Eastern Townships winters can be rather harsh, and I'd very much like to see all my beauties alive and well again next spring.
Protecting My Garden
There's another winter hazard in my garden that has absolutely nothing to do with the weather. AKA my eight-year-old!
Once the snow arrives, garden beds become considerably less obvious, and somehow, his little boots have a habit of finding their way into places they shouldn't… He's having fun playing in the snow. My plants? Not so much.
So this year, I made a few makeshift cloches to protect my newly planted spindles and sedums.
Using wire baskets and a few hanging baskets I thought were done being useful for the season, I created little protective cages. Turned upside down and secured with U-shaped garden staples, they're (fingers crossed!) sturdy enough to survive a winter of accidental stomping boots.
Not exactly the fanciest, but clever is what I need here!
Little SomethingS to Look Forward To
Now, my favourite part: spring bulbs!
There's something oh-so-optimistic about planting bulbs in the fall. You're burying little promises in the ground and trusting Mother Nature to do the rest.
And apparently, I'm very optimistic, judging by how many bulbs I brought home after a little shopping spree… Hah!
Adding to my already-established tulips, this year I planted Double Pastel Mix tulips, Roseberry tulips, Apricot Pride tulips, delicate white leucojum, Pink Sunrise muscari, purple-blue muscari, and a whole lot of crocuses. Oh my!
Soft pinks, apricots, purples, and whites. In my head, it's going to look absolutely beautiful. And what a lovely little pre-show before the peonies, hydrangeas, roses, and lavender take centre stage!
The more, the merrier. That goes for the garden, too.
… Except for one little creature who's equally excited about my spring bulbs: a determined black squirrel.
After discovering that some of my freshly planted bulbs had become his afternoon snack, I decided to lay chicken wire over the planted areas, secure it with U-shaped garden staples, and top everything with extra mulch. (This is also where my makeshift cloches should be handy.)
Hopefully, that'll keep him from digging up the rest of my spring plans…
With the furniture put away, the pool officially closed, the beds cleaned up, the plants protected, and the bulbs tucked into the ground, it's finally time to let the garden rest and enjoy a slower season.
