Garden Notes

A light frost has arrived, but my Southern Illinois cottage garden is still full of color. Here's what's blooming, what surprised me, and what I'm planting for next year.

I gave my overgrown Barnside Border a fresh start with a cottage-style perennial planting designed for color, texture, and pollinators, using the Buzz & Bloom #3 EZ Scape recipe.

The garden has come a long way this summer, but it still has a long way to go. I’m sharing what is finally working, what still doesn’t feel quite right, and how I’m slowly finding my way toward the country cottage garden I’ve been imagining.

This garden didn't come together all at once. It grew through trial, error, and slow attention - becoming a place of calm, texture, scent, and reflection, shaped as much by patience as by plants.

A reflection on winter gardens, patience, and what the quiet season reveals about structure and growth.