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.

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late spring cottage garden  and greenhouse

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.

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.

flower wind spinners in cottage garden

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
peonies in late spring cottage garden

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. 
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 love them so it’s a treat for me, and I end up giving them to my neighbors.

You’ll need to stake these flowers.

lavender in late spring cottage garden

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.

Calle lily

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


red campion in late spring cottage garden

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.

allium

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.

late spring cottage garden

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.

rhododendron tree

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.

late spring cottage garden rhododendron bushes

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

pink rhododendron bloom
pink rhododendron blooms
late spring cottage garden  and greenhouse

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.
late spring cottage garden patio area

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.

lilac tree

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”.

herb container with chives

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

late spring cottage garden  and garden fairy

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!

late spring cottage garden  overlooking the Puget Sound

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

If you have any questions or additional suggestions, please share them in the comments below. And be sure to share this blog post link with anyone who may enjoy this garden post.

Until next time,

Happy Gardening!

I’m a self-taught hobby gardener. Everything I share on my blog is my opinion and what has worked for me.

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3 Comments

  1. Hi Kim. I’m new with growing peonies. I planted them last fall and they came up beautifully this year. Am I not to pick the flowers once they’re in full bloom? Do I let them die off and then trim it down? I want them to stay as beautiful as they are right now for years to come. I just want to do what’s right for them. Please let me know. Thank you, Cindy 🙂

  2. Hi Kim,
    I just planted Peonies in my garden last year for the first time. They are about to bloom here in New England and couldn’t wait till they did so I can snip a couple blooms to bring inside. Then I saw in your post that made me think twice. Just want to make sure I read it right. You said not to snip any for the first couple years as it’s maturing? I will patient if that is so. They are in my rose garden which is flourishing and I’ve been getting my fix on them right now. lol. Let me know. And welcome back. Loved tagging along on your adventure in Europe. Cindy 😉

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