Friday, July 11, 2008

Changes come with hard work

Welcome again to Cranberry Cottage. This tiny house on the edge of the woods is our special hideaway each weekend.


Last year in September, I told you about a major project we were starting up at Cranberry Cottage. You can see how it used to look here. It has been such hard work for Jos as we only had the odd Saturday to work on it. He has removed the row of conifers, re~leveled a fire ditch and built a living fence. Now the living fence will take another summer at the very least to start to really come to life. All the plants are doing well so far. We have an extra two meters depth of garden space that was hidden by the conifers before.

We created a new terrace which gives us a nice view back to the direction of the cottage and the side garden. It is right at the wooden fence which we put up between the living fence to allow ourselves and our neighbors privacy. Although I must admit we love chatting over the fence with our new neighbors who are a sheep farmer and his wife. Now to me, a farm is an idyllic life but they come to their cottage to get away from it all.

We had a bit of a problem with the gravel as we thought it would be darker. It is not what we wanted and we may add a layer of the same red split we used for our driveway to mix it and create a darker looking area. We have not quite finished as the bench needs to be moved back once we get some patio blocks to stabilize it. I used items I already had so far for the fence but we will be looking out for some wreaths now as I thought a couple of them would look nice on the fence.

A funny thing happened last Saturday. Friends came for dinner. We had a wonderful time eating Al Fresco. We decided to take a little walk before having our coffee and my friend asked me if I leave my pillows and cushions out when I am not sitting there. Horrified she said the birds will do their business on the quilt and pillows. Jos and I told her that had never happened in the four years we have the cottage. Well, yep, you guessed it! We came back and just a half an hour they had done their business not once...not twice...but three times. Did she jinx us saying that?


I am so lucky to be able to buy bouquets directly by a woman who grows flowers and sells them by the roadside. She only charges 2 euro for flowers like these cheerful sunflowers.


Now let me leave you this Friday with a challenge. Do you know what this plant is? It is growing among the wildflowers we get in the garden. I will reveal what it is on Sunday. I thought it would be fun to see if anyone knows it as Jos and I were surprised when I looked it up.


Have a wonderful weekend filled with happiness and contentment dear friends!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

have a nice time at your cottage and hope to see both of you soon. We will pick up our moving house on monday and hope to start our holliday on thuesday. I am now of to go and see my sister. I haven't seen her for more then 4 weeks. Talk to you soon..or sms...liefs Sonja

the tattered nest said...

Hey girl you have me stumped...I have no idea what kind of plant that is...the leaves have almost the look of a morning glory...but not. Whatever it is, your cottage garden looks beautiful! you are so lucky to be able to buy your flowers roadside...have a good weekend!

Nancy said...

The answer to your question is, I do not have a clue. LOL. I am no flower expert as you might already know. My favorite are wildflowers though.
That looks awesome, good job Jos. I bet you needed the roof after all to keep the birds from your cushions, right Bep?
Very nice. Hope the weather is nice so you can enjoy it this weekend.
Love you, Mom

Anonymous said...

Shame on you for making Jos work so hard. But , it sure looks B,U,T,full

Deborah aka Miss Bee said...

I'm looking forward to seeing what that plant is!

LOL! My son-in-law and daughter take their cushions in every evening. I thought it so silly, but hmmm...

Hugs,
Deborah

Anonymous said...

It looks like: Solanum nigrum. In Dutch: Zwarte Nachtschade. The leaves and berries (black from
aug. t/m okt.) are poisonous!
But maybe it has another name and is not dangerous for example: Clematis vitalba: Bosrank. Your cottage is in the woods sooooo..... Have a nice weekend anyway.
Elly

Suzann said...

I love seeing photos of your garden and your cottage getaway. I'm so sorry to hear about the birds and your stuff. Icky. I'm such a novice at plants that I wouldn't even attempt to guess, but I look forward to learning more about this plant.

Anonymous said...

Dear Heidie,

Wat een prachtig plekje hebben jullie daar zeg !! Vooral die mooie bank tegen de schutting, lekker om daar te zitten met een kopje koffie of thee ! Misschien wordt de gravel nog wel donkerder van kleur door de weersomstandigheden. De naam van de plant weet ik niet :0 !!
Verder wens ik je weer een fijne tijd in Cranberrie Cottage. Ik ga nu beginnen met pakken voor de vakantie. Morgen gaan we naar Noorwegen ... de wensdroom van mijn man komt uit :) Vind het wel spannend hoor !!
Groetjes en tot na de vakantie :)

Anonymous said...

Hoi Heidi,bedankt voor jouw mooi weer bericht! En is het plantje misschien een aardappelplantje? groetjes Sonja

Karen said...

Everything looks so wonderful Heidi, restful and peaceful. Great place to sit outside and do some stitching and enjoy your beautiful setting. Oh my goodness I LOVE those sunflowers - there are a favorite of mine.

Hugs - Karen

Ragged Roses said...

Heidi you must be so proud of all your hard work at Cranberry Cottage, it looks lovely. How lucky to buy such pretty flowers too. I thought birds doing their business was meant to be lucky, I guess you wouldn't count three lots as lucky at all!!!
Kimxxx
I can't remember the name of that plant, am I right in thinking it's poisonous? Or am I just being a Drama Queen?

Anonymous said...

Heidi, I have no idea what the plant is, but am looking forward to finding out. I love sunflowers and do collect them, my gathering room is decorated in sunflowers. Your new patio is very nice. Tell Jos he created a peaceful place to sit and stitch or read. Hugs, Barbara/MO

Mary said...

Everything is looking so lovely at Cranberry Cottage Heidi - I'm glad you have somewhere in the country to relax and enjoy more of what Nature has to offer.

I just hose off my outdoor cushions - the birds often leave calling cards but I'd rather that than have a quiet, static garden!

Hugs - Mary.