The Garden Community for Garden Lovers

My Miniature Garden.....again

eirlys

By eirlys

17 comments


Around fifteen years ago my husband built a little stone cottage for me with stones collected from a mountain near my old home in Wales. He thatched the roof, destroying three bristle brooms in the process, and then we had the fun of creating the garden.

Finding suitable plants wasn’t easy until we found a nursery in Devon that specialised in miniatures. My best buy was a miniature rose called “Sim”. Unlike many miniature roses this remained very tiny and flourished for many years.

We added other plants and cropped them to ensure that they were is some sort of proportion. The lawn was real grass!

The little garden gave us pleasure for a very long time but Time and Nature intervened. The little cottage is dilapidated; the rose has gone, as has the lawn, and the shrubs that are left are far too big.

Maybe one day we’ll have another attempt at restoring our lost garden……maybe!

(I wrote about this garden way back in 2014 so I hope you’ll forgive the duplication, as it were. I am clearing photos from my PC and came across this one. )

More blog posts by eirlys

Previous post: Our Late Compost Heap: a little section shown here

Next post: Around the house......



Comments

 

Aw, Eirlys, this was so beautiful! I hope you can find time and energy to restore the cottage and find some new miniatures. :)

27 Oct, 2018

 

Oh yes, I remember this one - just perfection! What a pity ts outgrown itself. I do hope you can find time and energy to make another one. Isn't it nice that we can keep pics of past joys!

27 Oct, 2018

 

Its lovely to have memories like this.

28 Oct, 2018

 

Karen; It gave us a lot of pleasure but sadly we no longer have the time or the energy to re-plant. True miniatures are not easy to find. Now that's a gap in the market! Alpines grow far too big.

Stera: Thought you might! I sent that image in to one of the Weeklies and I had to re-submit it with yours truly posed nearby armed with a miniature fork! This was to show the scale of the little garden. I was paid £75, so the effort was worth it. :O)

Diane: That's true and at our age we have lots!! :O)

28 Oct, 2018

 

£75! That must have bee a pleasant surprise. I bet you could have sold the actual garden for a lot more, but sure you wouldn't never have wanted to part with it.

28 Oct, 2018

 

The Lost Gardens of Heligan were restored so it would be lovely if your sweet little cottage and gardens could also be restored!
We would love to see it.

28 Oct, 2018

 

Eirlys it's lovely to see it again, your hubby made a lovely job even if the brooms suffered to make the roof, when out and about one often sees old cottages and often they look enchanting, I bet yours still has its charm about it..

29 Oct, 2018

 

We saw the stone cottages at the Devon nursery. They cost £250. We bought a book on how to build them, reduced from £12.99 to £5 at the till!!

Stera: The base is Purbeck stone from Landers quarry near Swanage. Just checked : they're still there.( Let us buy a large Ammonite to incorporate in our fireplace: the former is even older than yours truly!! :O) The base is part of a barbecue area so we can never move it!

Wilrose : Maybe next year. I've been researching miniature plants. The Americans plant these in their "fairy gardens".

LincsLass: I think the cottage will have to stay as it is now. Could always add a "For Sale" to the door!

29 Oct, 2018

 

That's lovely. It must have been interesting making it :)

29 Oct, 2018

 

Fancy having an ammonite in your fireplace! That must be quite rare - how big is it? Makes me quite envious. I was rather relieved to hear it is even older than you, lol.

Wildrose, how about the lost garden of Eirlys??

29 Oct, 2018

 

Stera: . Just read ammonites were around 65 million years ago. They're not rare. Little ones can be found on the beach. Ours is about 12 -18 inches across.

We had some interesting facts about Dorset smugglers from the quarry owner.
The smugglers in charge of the beach and the land-based network were Landers and Tubmen.
There used to be an underground passageway from the quarry down to the beach , he told us.
They discovered Dinosaur footprints there and these were donated to museums.

"Lost Garden of Eirlys"? Doesn't sound right!!

31 Oct, 2018

 

This is lovely Eirlys - and things never stay the same so it’s good to have photos.

I bet you would enjoy growing dwarf trees like me . . . very suitable for us ‘oldies’ as it’s gentle work!

18 Nov, 2018

 

We did grow dwarf trees once upon a time but have culled them the last few years. Sold all our pots and containers also! Still love them but have to accept that we are now too old to give up so much time to them.

24 Nov, 2018

 

Lost garden of Eirlys..I think it sounds just right. it sounds as though Eirlys is a semi magical place from an obscure corner of one of the Celtic countries don't you think?

25 Nov, 2018

 

I'm rather late in commenting on your lovely mini garden. Sorry that it's falling into disrepair. Used to go regularly to Langton Matavers and Dancing Ledge.

5 Dec, 2018

 

I am replying even later than you, Siris! Haven't been to Dancing Ledge for years. It was a long trek down and an arduous one making our way home.
Langton Matravers: well worth a visit and Landers Quarry if around that region.

29 Dec, 2018

 

I find this absolutely fascinating, what a dear little cottage, could you not find the energy to create around the remains of the house, and call it a secret garden revisited?

27 Feb, 2019

Add a comment

Recent posts by eirlys

Members who like this blog

  • Gardening with friends since
    11 Sep, 2013

  • Gardening with friends since
    25 Feb, 2011

  • Gardening with friends since
    26 Nov, 2017

  • Gardening with friends since
    9 Aug, 2009

  • Gardening with friends since
    21 Nov, 2013

  • Gardening with friends since
    22 Oct, 2008

  • Gardening with friends since
    2 Nov, 2009

  • Gardening with friends since
    4 Oct, 2008

  • Gardening with friends since
    13 May, 2014

  • Gardening with friends since
    5 May, 2010