I’ve waited for this opportunity for years-the chance to design and nurture my very own English-y, cottage-y garden of flowers. Can’t you see it? A lazy summer morning spent tenderly weeding among the hollyhocks and zinnias, snipping a few stems to display on the dining table, happy bees gently buzzing around the roses. I have to think God loves flowers, because His idea of heaven on Earth was a garden. In our new home, the front landscaping was largely bare, with a four foot deep, twelve foot long garden bed spanning the front of the house. Two mystery roses (they have yet to bloom), are currently sitting sentinel in the back of the bed, and I added an obelisk trellis to one (birthday gift!).

Life isn’t an HGTV episode, and a true cottage garden takes years, but I’ve done what I can with a shoestring budget and the Texas heat. We have lived here for a little over thirty days, and I feel thankful for the progress I’ve made! My first step was to place the containers I already had growing at our rent house into the bed. Eventually, I want it to be mostly plants, but the structure is welcome for now as everything fills in. Two dianthus, a big wide basil, a small pot of vincas, and a galvanized tub of strawberries that will eventually make it’s way to the backyard. Among the planters, I nestled zinnias, echinacea grown from seed, a struggling hydrangea, and a snapdragon.

I’m writing from a place of journey and not from a place of arrival, but consider this the first installment of a Texas cottage garden. I can’t wait to see it filled with butterflies and bees next spring!