I’ve talked a lot about Spring lately here on the blog and that’s because it’s been one of the main subjects occupying my thoughts for the last couple of months now. I mentioned in an earlier post that I started my seeds for this year’s Spring garden. While I wait for my seedlings to be ready for transplanting outdoors, I’ve been collecting garden design ideas for my Spring and Summer garden look this year. Today I wanted to share some of that inspiration with y’all!
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure policy for details.
Last year I didn’t put any effort into making my garden look “pretty”, but this year I wanted to try to make an effort to spiff it up a little.
I love spending time outside and in my garden, but unfortunately our place doesn’t have much curb appeal. Other than the beautiful Rocky Mountain views from our living room window and patio, there’s nothing too special about it.
Like I said I want to add some curb appeal and I want the garden to be a retreat for relaxation. However, I don’t want to spend a bunch of money for a couple of reasons; A). our current home is a rental, and B). we’re actually going to be moving come this July.
Now I already know what you guys are going to say. “Why are you even bothering to plant a garden if you’re moving in July?”
The simple truth is that I love to garden, it makes me happy and that’s enough reason for me.
I want whatever I plant in the garden to be on the lower maintenance side since eventually someone else will move in and have to take over caring for whatever I plant and there’s already plenty to do when living on a farm.
Having said that, if you’ve ever gardened or planned out a garden design before you know it gets expensive fast.
So with all that in mind, I decided that the best option was to go for more of a cottage garden design. A cottage-style garden usually has more of a whimsical overgrown wildflower look, rather than a lot of expensive exotic flowers.
A cottage garden adds tons of charm to a space, with very little effort both initially and throughout the Spring, Summer, and offseason, and there’s not nearly as much money required.
Below you’ll find some of my favorite photos and links for my Spring and Summer garden design inspiration for this year.
My Favorite Cottage Garden Design Inspirations
You might see some trends in the collection of photos and it’s all intentional.
Ideally, I’d like to have a trellis with some sort of Ivy or flowers climbing up it, on top of it being pretty the trellis would also provide shade and a bit of privacy.
Last year I did buy and plant both. However, both the Ivy and climbing roses died almost immediately so we’ll see if I can accomplish it this year.
I’d also like to have some sort of stone/rock path way placed in between the vegetable garden beds. Maybe it’s just me but when I picture a little cottage in the woods, I always imagine a stone pathway leading up to the door.
The one thing you’ll notice in almost every photo though are wildflowers. Again when I picture a cottage tucked away in the woods, in my mind I see wildflowers surrounding it.
Where I live, if you go hiking in the mountains in the Spring and Summer you’ll see random wildflowers with pops of colors in any given direction. Blues, reds, oranges, yellows, white, purples and all colors in between.
It only seems natural that my vegetable garden be surrounded by these same wildflowers and plants too.
While I was at The Home Depot buying my organic seed starter mix I happened to find a huge bag of wildflower seeds and they were only like $7-$10 so I bought a bag, as well as a packet of Giant Sunflower seeds.
I had previously looked at some wildflower seeds on Amazon but pretty much all the packs I found contained the same amount of seeds as a single package of vegetable seeds but were around $10-$15. Comparatively, the seeds included from The Home Depot vs. Amazon all seemed very similar so I went with the seeds from The Depot.
I’m still on the hunt for some plants to include in with the garden. We’re still at risk for snow and chilly temperatures where I live though so I have some time to find some before I can plant it all.
If any of you guys have any suggestions on good garden plants I’d love to hear them in the comments below!
You can find even more of my Spring and Summer garden inspiration and other helpful garden-related resources on my Pinterest boards Spring & Summer Inspiration, and DIY Gardening Tips for Beginners.
I hope this got your garden design juices flowing. As always thank you so much for stopping by the blog today your support means SO much to me!!
