Everybody loves gardens!
One of the flourishing businesses of our time is that of Garden Centres.
I love walking around a Garden Centre, but can rarely afford to buy more than one or two plants…if that!
But…I continue to develop the gardens here at Bealtaine Cottage…on a budget that more often than not hovers around the zero mark!
How is it done?
With lots of inspiration from the greatest gardener of the lot, Mother Nature!
Lots of seeds and cuttings grow into plants that go to make the gardens, such as here by the front door.
Home-made compost as well as compoost!
Liquid fertiliser is always available…urine mixed 10:1 with spring water, (the cottage is fed by a Spring Well!).
Old bits of wood, logs and tree stumps make wonderful edging.
Broken terracotta pots and broken china help create the right effect in Rockery Gardens.
House ornaments that are weather-proof help create the right atmosphere in the garden…
Stones that are smooth…
Stones that are big…
Logs with mossy bits…
Old candle holders topped with an old can of Sedums…
Tree stumps with round stones atop…
Silly concrete garden ornaments bought pre-loved at a Boot Fair and painted…
…and more Sedums that tolerate neglect!
Shells and broken bits of tiles…
It’s a wonderful and fun way to create a small but interesting garden, where one wants to spend more time looking…
Using wood and stone as well as a multitude of other materials helps create micro-climates where plants flourish.
Rustic gardens are full of texture and interest…
Places where the old and unusual take on a new life…
Like this old river stone in the shape of Gandalf’s hat!
Garden pots and more ornamental shrubs can be incorporated too…
I hope you make some of these ideas your own, for wildlife, especially Bees and insects benefit so much from rustic gardens!
There are over eleven hundred blogs about Bealtaine Cottage and Gardens on this website, as well as over six thousand photographs…all free!
Growing the BEALTAINE PROJECT one upload at a time…
Bealtaine Cottage Good Life membership is 12 euros per year and allows me a small income to continue to grow the Bealtaine Project both here in Ireland and in the hearts and minds of good people all over the world.
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Fantastic post. It really brings the eye down to ground level to actually SEE what is there. thanks for all the ideas and for the tip about putting new plants into isolation. I have read elsewhere that putting stones, in particular, in piles one on top of another can increase the earth energy. It is something called a power tower and works in a similar way to acupuncture. Knowing you Colette, I bet you have placed these little towers exactly where they are needed instinctively. Many thanks
My love affair with stones continues…
Great ideas at Bealtaine….my favourite way of gardening! So many plants, including trees, seed themselves around my garden, and I save most of them in pots. Only one problem: my city garden is tiny, so I’m transplanting them into my daughter’s plot, where we’ve been digging up the grass and planting veggies and perennials instead. The bees especially love the oregano, mint, fennel and chive flowers!
Sorry for posting again…I was wondering what is hanging near your front door? ok…..thanks again Colette the Fae!
Some driftwood.
These photos are a wonderful gift! I am retaining some ideas for tomorrow! Yep! Lots of things to do on Monday! And my Hens will be so happy to find me so near with my little doggy Baly!
You are inspiring, Colette!
Colette,
your garden is fab, pollinator friendly, garden centres are full of nice plants, but the down side is we need to be careful, plants grown in a monoculture green houses, sprayed on a routine basis, are bad for the pollinators. They also use our bogs, in abundance, to grow the plant. no compost and pee, unfortunately. There are no environmentally friendly garden centres. I am looking.
This is true and any plants I do get, and they are few and far between, go into isolation for a while, mainly I may add, to make them stronger, as the plant is heavily fertilised with chemicals when bought. As for environmentally friendly GC’s there are local growers and organic centres…here: Knockvicar, Croghan and further off, Rossinver.
Every little nook is a wonderland itself. So beautiful!
Beautiful!