Cottage Flora Thursday's #2

Thank you so much for peeking in at the second week of Cottage Flora Thursday’s here at Fishtail Cottage.  I am looking for other bloggers like myself, who enjoy the Cottage Garden & lifestyle.  If you have a post to share, please make sure you are a follower & please link Cottage Flora Thursday’s to your post.  I can’t wait to see everyone’s post this week~

This is my fourth summer in our home and I always get really excited this time of year & wonder what the garden will look like.  I started out with a blank slate here & have planted everything here with my own two hands.  Lot’s of digging, pulling weeds, moving & tearing out plants that aren’t working, dividing & reseeding. I know that Cottage Gardening will always be a “work in progress”, but the rewards I find the efforts of my gardening ways are so self satisfying.  This is such a difficult time of year for me to stay busy as I get so anxious to get out in the dirt.  However it is just frozen dirt I see.  Not much too see in the Fishtail Cottage Garden right now, but I know what is coming! I was tickled to see some “spring” peeking out  of the ground  this week and wanted to share it with you!
Showing you what they look like now & what they will look like soon!

Johnny Jump ups

These seeds re-seed themselves in the garden & continue to bloom all year long.   Love this  purple & yellow variety.   Possibly may spread in places they are not welcome, however they are easy to pull out where you don’t want them, & replant them where you do.  If they get a little “leggy”, simply cut back to the ground & they will look fantastic in just a week or so. Hardy to zone 4

Here is a Crocus bulb peeking out.

Thus far, I have planted a few bag of these bulbs every fall since I’ve lived here. They peek their heads up about this time of year & are one of the first bulbs to bloom in my Cottage Garden – the will naturalize themselves & are so pretty from my kitchen windows!

Shirley Tulip Bulbs

Shirley Tulips are just one of the many tulips I have planted in the garden.  I particularly love this one because it comes up white and changes to pink as it ages.  So beautiful.

Sarah Bernhardt Peony

Sarah Bernhardt has earned the right to grace gardens across the country with her rose pink blossoms, reliable blooming habit and sturdy upright form. This variety is a perfect example of old fashioned peony charm and has been grown in America's cottage gardens for almost 100 years. A sturdy grower that will deliver armfuls of blossoms year after year. This is a late season blooming variety. Full sun/lt shade zone 3-7 blooms late spring / early summer (later than others)

Endless Summer Hydrangea

This is one of my many Hydrangea’s I have planted.  This particular hydrangea blooms on both old and new wood. Flowers virtually all season long and is hardy to zone 4. Endless Summer will produce magnificent pink to grape to blue blooms depending on the pH of your soil. Alkaline - pH 6-7 will produce pink blooms. Acidic soil - pH 5-5.8 will produce blue ones. For blue add aluminum sulfate to the soil. Sun to part shade. Bloom colors are pink to med. blue. Blooms repeatedly all summer….

Lady Hellebores

The Lady Hellebores  is one of my favorite winter bloomers.  It reach's about 14” high and 18” wide. Bright pink blooms measure 2 to 3 inches wide, with softly rippled, overlapping petals absolutely drenched in color. 'Pink Lady' is offers bubblegum-bright shades of pink with very faint darker veining. Soil should be moist, well drained. Plant in part shade.  Bloom season is late winter to mid spring. All soil types. Zone 4-9
Hope you enjoyed viewing my post for Cottage Flora Thursday’s…now I’m hoping you’ll link your post too!  & don’t forget to come back next week!
Please follow me, & put the link for this party in your side bar as well so more of us Cottage Gardeners can come together & share our Gardens! xoxo ~tracie
 
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