Our Gardens- The Sketched Layout + Aerial Shots

Our gardens are ever evolving and that's where I find the most inspiration and excitement. I'm very much a visual dreamer and so when I study other gardens, I'm filled with the most exciting butterflies in my stomach. I hope you're left with that same feeling after you scroll through this blog post. 

Several years ago, the gardens to the east of the house exist only in my head. I'm finally beginning to see my visions in real time and it's so exciting. You can see the start of these gardens in my semi-finished deck blog here. I should note that our deck railing is in- we just have to pick it up and install it, yay!

I'm sure when I began to paint the lines for the flower borders years ago, the beds would have seemed expansive. However, now walking through them today, the beds are slowly filling up and match the scale of the home. Here's a rough draft of what's currently in the beds... much to be determined through the upcoming years.

I wanted aspects of the gardens to marry the feelings of formal, cottage and European. I have boxwoods (that need a nice haircut) to bring the formal and grounding structure. The soft color palette adds to the whimsical cottage feel and the emerald arbs/pin point false cypress that I added to the garden this year will lend to the European inspiration.

We chose to go with stone in the garden for several reasons. One being that it's kind of a "once-and-done" job- meaning we don't have relay mulch every year. Secondly, with our free roaming chickens and ducks, we don't have to worry about them choosing to kick around in the mulch for a nice dust bath. Though it's a slow process, it's been so worth the wait!

The courtyard was the first area to be completed with the stones. This quaint area joins our deck to my in-laws screened in porch. I love the fountain in the middle for both our enjoyment and I still have more to fill in. Boxwoods anchor most the corners and a viburnum and lilac add the most delightful smells in the early summer! I dashed around some popcorn roses and cat mint for a soft color.

 

I find most of my inspiration scrolling through Pinterest and have been saving many great designs over on my OUT board! As with any garden- it's time that makes a garden so beautiful. I can only imagine what these spaces will look like in 3+ years! 

Hugs, Alyssa