Decorating & Design

September 10, 2012

Cottage Gardens

Summer holidays are over and I have a mind packed full of memories from long weekend getaways to the family cottage in Saint Andrews, New Brunswick. For many of the people who spend only summers in Saint Andrews, the summer usually begins the May long weekend and ends sometime around the Labour Day weekend. This year I was lucky enough to spend both these weekends plus a few other long weekends in between enjoying the cottage out east.

Here are some photos of the backyard on the May long weekend. The yard is ready for all the new flowers. You can see the foxgloves that we planted in the flowerbed on the other side of the tree. We also ended up planting more than 140 of them in different areas. It was a lot of work! When you start this project keep in mind that it will be a lot of hard work, so if you need help then consider hiring professional residential yard work services.

A conversation we always have upon arrival goes something like this, “How high is the tide today?” My husband and father-in-law both prefer a high tide to a low tide. I think both tides are mysterious and interesting in their own ways. You can see here how low it was in May.

These photos are from this past weekend. I love how they show all the growth over the summer.

And I love these garden shots I took last summer. Every year we have a lot of peonies and poppies — a lovely splash of colour to break up all the green.

It’s always sad to leave, but the memories and photos you take really do keep you warm over the cold winter months.

For more gardening tips, see our Gardening & Outdoor Living Guide.

Photo credits:
1-5. Holly Meighen