The Happy Cottage

Small Garden Journal

This blog began in Jan. 2017 on a cold bright winter day in our 1945 cottage home in Durham, NC. Photos of the Spring 2016 garden inspired me. Winter is after all, the perfect time for gardeners to daydream of Spring. Monthly posts highlight what's happening in our Zone 7 Piedmont garden which includes small wildlife and occasional updates of what's happening inside the cottage. In 2015 we renovated the house next door and are enjoying starting garden beds there as well.

Visit the Butterfly Compendium to see a catalog of pollinators in the garden and host plant information. View this and other favorites in the Featured Posts section of the blog (to the right of the most recent post).

Gardening/lifestyle ethos at The Happy Cottage: support Mother Earth and yourself by being as natural as possible. Avoid the use of synthetic chemicals and weed instead of spray. Include host and nectar plants for pollinators. Favorite garden medium: organic mushroom compost. It's the soil that mushrooms were grown in. Full disclosure: We do use biological mosquito dunks.

My gardening style has evolved over twenty years to include scent, food for pollinators, butterflies, birds and shelter for small creatures. A multi-dimensional garden will bring you years of enjoyment!

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Late Generation Monarch

I'm still learning about Monarchs. I knew they produced multiple generations on their path southwards. I didn't know that the generation born in Fall actually flies all the way to Mexico, overwinters and then mates to produce the first generation. Here are two great links about the Monarch generations: Monarch Lab and Monarch Butterfly USA. I'm still seeing Monarchs pass through our yard. It's Oct.20th and the clouds are breaking up. Sure enough, I found another Monarch on

Mystery Weed Fall 2018

I think it's a Small Woodland sunflower, but who knows? I've been trying to find a match online, but it can be difficult to pinpoint. We're staying inside today as the remnants of Hurricane Michael pass through Durham. We've had steady rain, but now the wind has really picked up. A cold front is meeting a warm front and things are getting a little dicey. Hopefully, no trees or serious branches will come down. So back, to sunnier times. Mystery sunflower complete with tin

Dahlia Dark Butterfly and Black Knight Butterfly Bush

I haven't posted a new "Artful Combination" in a long time. I've been waiting for our new Dahlia, Dark Butterfly to bloom. I planted it with a Dark Knight butterfly bush. The dahlia has leaned backwards to follow the western sun (this garden faces east). The backward lean has caused the dahlia to bloom through the butterfly bush. I like the effect. Next Spring I will move the dahlia more in line with the butterfly bush so it won't have to lean so far backwards. I also

Late Summer/Fall 2018 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Indian Summer may not be coming in 2018. We have gone from dry to ultra wet with Hurricane Florence to super hot. It's 89 degrees on Oct. 5th. The Good A Frost aster and wild ageratums are looking lovely with the lipstick sage. The Frost aster is also wild. I might be wrong about this being a Frost aster. I don't see any 'hairs' and the stems are woody. If anyone has any other ideas as to identification, please let me know. I've been watching it all summer hoping t