Cottage Garden Time!!!

Ah, yes. The weather warms, birds begin to sing, Uncle Greg shaves his head, and we all know that spring is on the way! It's the time when a cottage gardener's heart turns to potting soil and compost. I've only had one year's experience with gardening, but it has me chomping at the bit for more! Don't mistake me, I've never been the agricultural type. I'd much rather sit in my window seat with a hot cup of tea on a cloudy day and read some heart-pounding fiction. But I've always had an insatiable passion, nay, obsession, with everything English. Ergo--the English Cottage Garden. 

Today I got to work planting my first seeds in little peat pots. These will (God willing) germinate in the next couple of weeks as they sit out on our sun-porch, soaking up all sorts of water and nutrients and growing into lovely big plants. Our last frost date down here is around the third week in April, and when that time rolls around I will hopefully have some tiny green things to put out in my freshly-tilled soil! 

The first step is to get the ingredients together: Peat pots, check. Seeds, check. Trowel, check. Potting soil, check. Watering can, check. Nice old table that doesn't mind water damage, check.

Now I dump some potting soil into the peat pots and sprinkle in my seeds (left over from last year and preserved in the freezer). Columbines, in this case.

Next, I put a little soil over the seeds and cut up the top of a cottage cheese container to use as cheap plant markers (I wouldn't want to get confused and forget which seeds I planted in which peat pots, now would I?). 

All that's left is to repeat the process with some herbs (thyme, basil, parsley) and water thoroughly. Yeehaw! I plan on buying some more seeds as soon as possible. But for now, we're on our way to traditional English bliss.

Check in for more gardening updates in the months to come!

-Abby Rogers