It's Spring at Cotton Mill Cottage

This spring has been a long time coming. We had a wet but unusually cold winter

and after the drought of last summer it was what we needed!

When we found our house on an acre lot....I promised

(with fingers crossed behind my back)

that I absolutely would not try to landscape all of it. Well.....plantings keep creeping into our little "One Acre Wood"! Our wooded area was so overgrown that it took three years to rid it of poison ivy! It has been a labor of love....at times.....from my husband's point of view. Only someone that loves you would move plants because "they aren't happy there".

Here in Georgia, the clay soil is horrible to deal with! I had started a little path in our side yard but quickly realized that with a drought, there was NO WAY to keep everything growing. What I did find is that Georgia red clay does compact when you walk on it repeatedly.

What I have is a compacted mossy path. It actually looks better in fall and late winter.....the moss turns a chartreuse green.

Another discovery....we have deer....lots and lots of deer! Deer eat everything EXCEPT Southern Charm azaleas. In early spring they will nibble on the new leaves but I have not had them destroy a plant yet.


Another azalea that the deer won't eat is "President Clay".

I have always wanted this.....A Green Man.....for my garden.
Every now and then, my husband forgets about him and tells me..."that man has got to go!" Hee...Hee... Hee

This was a unwelcomed surprise......the wild trumpet vine that I had intentionally rooted from one found in the wooded part of our lot.....has taken over. A friend told me that it's like miniature Kudzu. YIKES!!!!

This was a "new" experiment. I purchased Irises on EBay and they have multiplied. I started with 6 and now dread the job of thinning them. There are probably 30 Irises now! I love how effortless growing them has been.

The good news is that I don't have to do it until September!

One of the things we love are fresh herbs. The best part....the deer don't eat most of them!!!! So as we start this season of growing, pruning.....cooking with wonderful herbs.....please pray for rain!!!!

Happy Digging,

Gwen