Frugal Cottage Gardening For Temporary Spaces

Hello Pearl, I found your site while looking for more info on cottage gardens. I really enjoyed it. My dream for a cottage garden is finally coming together. My husband, 14 y/o daughter & I have gone from apt. Living w/out even a balcony to a 2 bedroom mobile home but it has a yard, small yard but a yard nonetheless. While in the apt. he extended our windowsill so I managed to grow some flowers, herbs & tomatoes. Now at 53 y/old, I am planning my cottage garden. My problem is I have a septic tank & that I hate. We don't own this mobile home & we are buying either a small bungalow or a doulble-wide mobile home next year. I was wondering if you had any ideas about which plants & flowers were best for a container garden w/ a cottage garden in mind. That is what I was researching when I found your site. I dont want to go thru all that work yet until I own my peice of property. Any ideas? Thanks for your time. Also I wanted to mention I enjoyed your biblical scripture on the site. Thanks' Michele P.
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Michele -

Thanks for taking the time to write.

I know what it's like to have to "wait" on the things you desire, but until then, there are some things that you can do. Without knowing what your climate or what you already have to work with, I will still try to give you some idea that you can work with.

- I find most of my gardening items at discount stores
I'm always amazed at my great finds, not to mention how much money I am able to save!

- But things that you love
Even though you will only spend a short time in your current home, you will want to spend your money wisely - after all, that will help you get into your new home faster :) So... buy things that you will bring with you to your new garden.

- Shepard's hooks are very useful
These hooks are the tall iron poles with a loop at the top for hanging things on. Not only do they add a needed support element, but they are decorative as well. Use these hooks to hang things such as; plants, bird feeders, candle jars, etc.

- Add lots of elements that you can "find" around the countryside - free of charge
Do you have any friends that live near you - that would love for you to "help them clean up their land" :) Adding things such as - stones, ferns, and moss can add a real feeling of maturity to a garden.

- Add some height
Grow lots of annual vines such as morning glories to bring some height to your space. Use long fallen branches to stick into the ground & weave together at the top to form a natural arbor - then grow your vines up these arbors to add a quick "wall" of color. You could also place the branches in the ground tepee style & tie them at the top with raffia or twine.

- Add some trickle!
Water is always a wonderful addition to any garden space! Adding water is both easy & inexpensive! Take a look at our articles on adding water to the garden http://www.LittleCountryVillage.com/garden.shtml

Flowers
- perennials kept in pots & protected during the winter provide foundation plants that you can take to your new garden.

- add annuals that catch your eye (many annuals will continue to bloom all season and you can purchase a whole flat at your local discount store for under $5)

- green filler plants such as coleus - although coleus is considered a non-flower, the leaves come in beautiful shades of color. Coleus is also VERY easy to propagate

- seeds - you can find packets of flowers for under .70 at your local discount store (I buy mine for .10 each!) For a cottage garden look - simply scatter a mixture of seeds in your pots & keep them watered. You could use window box planters & line them up near the house for a "flower bed border" look, then you can use the window boxes on your new windows.

- Tea for 2
In the middle of your "garden" place a small round table & a couple of chairs. Dress the top of the table with a pretty pot of flowers or a small water fountain. Build your planters - and all of your other garden elements around this seating area. This will give you a "garden room" feeling for you to enjoy.

- Shade
If you don't already have some shade, you might consider adding a shady space to your garden for you to escape to during the hot sunny days this summer. You can achieve this by putting up a canopy (they have really pretty ones at the big super-marts this year for under $100) - or simply draping some gauzy fabric from the tree branches around your yard to give that romantic canopy feeling.

These are all ideas to give you a beautiful - but temporary cottage garden space. If you'll also notice, none of these ideas require digging or altering the grounds at all.

Happy Gardening!