Image. Image. SHABBY CHIC COTTAGE GARDEN. Sunny Southern California Carolanne's garden is a magical place. So magical, in fact, that I couldn't seem to stop taking pictures. I know I took way too many - so I will keep the commentary to a minimum and just let you enjoy the beauty that is Carolanne's garden. Her garden is filled with flowers, each specimen tended tenderly, like children, and accented with treasures she has carefully selected. The result is pure magic. Exploring this garden is like a treasure hunt - with each glance revealing a new hidden treasure. She collects beautiful and unique plants she selects from local nurseries or orders online from Annies Annuals and Perennials (highly recommended by Carolanne for quality and variety).Hers is a true cottage garden: flowers in abundance and growing with abandon, carefully selected accents and statuary, unique pots, cozy and inviting seating areas. . . well, you'll see what I mean as we explore Carolanne's magical garden....
Libby's Cottage Garden. Libby's Garden. Edible Garden gallery. Backyard Vegetable & Flower Garden. Courtyard into garden. Austin Green Garden Award. Wildflower Gardens. Have you secretly been considering turning your high maintenance mixed border into a wildflower garden? It can be hard to resist when seed companies are out there promoting their instant wildflower gardens in a can, sack or roll. I spoke with a handful of gardeners who gave wildflower meadows a try. Their efforts to date have not met with much success. Many gardeners naively believe you can simply scatter some seeds, ignore the gardening basics, and wind up with a self-sowing meadow of bluebells and lacecaps. In truth, starting a wildflower garden is often more work than putting in a perennial border and it is not necessarily self-perpetuating. If these plants are truly wild, (weeds, to most highway maintenance crews), why must they be coddled and coaxed out of the ground? What is a Wildflower Garden?
According to my local Extension office, wildflowers are species of flowers that have shown themselves to be hardy and self-reproducing, with little attention form the gardener. Flower garden in May. Green Roof Entry Arbor. Felder's Garden Entry Arbor with its "green" (planted) roof ... designed by Jackson architect Jeff Seabold, AIA (www.seabold-studio.com) A few examples of "Green Roofs" Felder has photographed around the world: Jackson green porch roof by Native Habitats Landscape Architect Robert Poore (ASLA) Mowed grass roof atop the crew quarters of the old firehouse, one block north of the square in Kosciusko Mississippi Green Roof playhouse, Memphis Botanic Garden Green roof playhouse, Chelsea Flower Show, London Felder's Green Roof Entry Arbor (before and after shots) The simple but bold green-roof arbor on the right was designed by Jackson, MS architects (AIA) John Weaver and Jeff Seabold (www.seabold-studio.com) Felder's crude model: Architects John Weaver and Jeff Seabold at work Conceptual sketches... and Jeff's detailed plans: One step at a time.