I just got home from my weekly trip to Lowe's and I also stopped by Walmart's garden center that's across the street from Lowe's.
I got four very nice bright green Coleus for 25 cents each, and they look great. They don't look at all past their prime.
I got four vincas for 25 cents each also, and they look a little leggy, but they always come back nicely, and you really almost CAN'T kill them. They are pink.
At Walmart I found four leggy white pentas. They are pretty. I'm thinking I'm going to cluster all these plants in groups in my cottage garden. I guess that means I need to start digging out a bed tomorrow. The plumbagos I got last week are still in pots and they need to be planted too. I'm going to transplant some salvias into the bottle bed tomorrow, and use the pot for something else. I also need to transplant my key lime tree into another pot as it falls over every time it rains.
I said earlier that there were benefits to styling the garden either rows or cottage style. I think I want to lay them out here so I can make a decision about how I want to start working tomorrow. Nothing like a last minute decision. But... the good news is that if I hate it the way I do it, I can just dig everything up and plant it the other way. Soooo.... here we go.
Cottage Garden--clusters of different plants here and there. All of it mulched between plants. A few garden decorations here and there. I have a small collection of birdhouses, and I want to make a (fake) bee skep for in there also. The benefits to this type of garden is that it lends itself to the way I garden and buy plants. Now and then, here and there, a little random. Also, and not the least of which, this is the way nature works. Nature has never planted a row of anything. It would also be a lot easier to build this garden as I go. Plant what I have in the space I have, then dig up the next space. Add fruits and vegetables here and there, even a raised bed or pots look good in this style. Also I can add pavers here and there in a meandering path. I like that. I'm a little crooked myself.
Row Garden--this isn't really like a farmer's row garden, more like orderly rows of different plants. This appeals to me because I like to think I'm organized and this looks organized. I'm thinking as a guideline, 2 foot rows planted between 2 foot walkways. The beds will be mulched, an the walkways will be different materials in each one. Maybe gravel in one, then pavers in the next one. I can build this one as I go also, adding a row at a time, but since I buy plants a few at a time, and usually on clearance, the choices are sometimes limited (sometimes there's only a few of each plant) and I'm not sure how that's going to look in rows.
Wow, that didn't help at all. But I have made a decision after all. I think I'm going with the cottage garden style. I like nature. She's done things her way for a few years without me trying to force her into submission, and I already have some raised beds if I'm feeling like I need orderly squares or rows.
Decision made.
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