Tour My Charming Late-Spring Country Cottage Flower Garden

What is growing in your garden now that June is here? Come take a tour as I share my late spring cottage flower garden and see how it’s changed from last year.

If you follow along regularly you’ll know that we were on a 3-week vacation and missed most of the happenings in the May garden.

I thought it would be fun to show you the pictures I took while walking through the garden once we got back since you haven’t seen the garden for a few weeks.

A lot happened while we were gone. Throughout the cottage flower garden, new blooms grew and others died off for the season. So many plants are filling in the bare spots from early May.

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I’m a self-taught hobby gardener, not a Master Gardener. Everything I share with you on my blog is my personal opinion and things that worked for me along the way.

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The Late Spring Cottage Garden

June is that one month in the garden when there is much more green foliage than colorful flowers in my cottage garden.

The early spring flowers are long gone, but the summer blooms haven’t shown up to the garden party yet.

You know what they say…no garden ever looks the same from year to year. Our cottage garden looked even more different this late spring season.

This was mostly because of the colder-than-normal temperatures over the last few months. Some plants started blossoming and then froze before they had time to grow.

“Each moment of the year has its own beauty, a picture which was never seen before, and which shall never be seen again.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Pretty Peonies

The peonies were fully blooming last year at this time but now we are still waiting for them to show off.

I have to say I’m happy about this though. I got home in plenty of time to see them bloom.

Facts:

• Peonies can last over 100 years in your garden if taken care of properly.
• Wait to harvest the blooms during the first few years. The energy needs to go into the roots at least for the first 2 or 3 years. Harvesting immature plants will stunt the size of the flowers and the number of stems per plant for many years. 

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Jupiter’s Beard

This is another plant that has just started to bloom but was full-grown this time last year.

I love Jupiter’s Beard because just when you think it’s done flowering for the season and you cut it back, it ends up blooming one more time in the season.

If you like volunteers in your garden then you’ll be happy to know that this plant will end up all over your beds. I actually love them so it’s a treat for me, and I end up giving them to my neighbors.

You’ll definitely need to stake these flowers.

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Lovely Lavender

The Spanish lavender in my garden is blooming beautifully right now.

Of course, every cottage garden needs some English lavender which I am patiently waiting for to bloom.

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Calla Lily

This lily was a complete surprise to me when I got back from our trip. The entire plant grew in just 3 weeks.

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Red Campion

This plant was one of the first perennials to bloom this spring other than the bulbs that were planted. I divide them each year because they can grow quite big.

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Alliums

I planted so many of these gorgeous spring bulbs last fall. They add such a beautiful pop of color and look amazing even when the color is gone.

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Lobed Tickseed

I love these gorgeous yellow flowers in the garden. They’re a bright ray of sunshine in the garden these days before the summer blooms appear.

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Rhododendrons are in Full Bloom

The Pacific Northwest is known for its colorful rhododendrons and azaleas in the spring. My bushes (more like trees) are well established and are one of the few plants that were here when we moved here almost 10 years ago.

The bloom times are different and the last “batch” of rhododendrons is blooming right now.

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What’s Missing from the Late Spring Cottage Garden This Year

Sadly, these are some of the flowers that you saw last year but I can’t find them in the garden this June.

• Salvia
• Delphinium
• Roses – This is because the deer ate them while I was gone.
• Foxglove – these are biennials and I planted them last year.

A Self-Seeded Foxglove in the Cottage Garden

Last June I found foxgloves on sale for $5.99 each. I bought them all! They created so much interest in the garden.

Sadly I have only seen two foxgloves that self-seeded in the cottage garden. Because they are a biennial, I won’t see them this year.

I’ve been looking everywhere to buy more this year but they seem to be sold out everywhere I go.

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Lovely Lilacs

Most of the lilac blooms were dying off when we left for our trip but I got a lovely lilac surprise when I came home and saw this stunning tree.

I think this variety is called “Be Right Back”.

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The Herb Container Garden

I’ve noticed the herb garden getting bigger and bigger with the chives growing the most.

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I’m a bit behind in the garden but I did go and buy more annual plants for the containers and window boxes.

I have also been bringing out more seating, tables, trellises, and yard art for summer.

The month of June is all about keeping up with the weeds, pinching, staking, watering, and ENJOYING the garden!

I hope you enjoyed my late spring cottage garden tour. I can’t wait to update you throughout the summer and share the progress.

Let me know what you are growing in your garden or if you have any questions. Leave me a comment below. I’d love to hear from you.

Until next time,

Happy Gardening!

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