Cottage Garden Flowers: Snapdragons

When you think of cottage garden flowers, what do you think of? Old fashioned roses, blowy peonies, perhaps pansies? I think of cottage gardening style as a loose arrangement of my favorite flowers, with a preponderence of old-fashioned favorites.

I'm not a good garden designer. I plunk whatever strikes my fancy into the ground, then shoehorn more plants in whenever I can. The paths I planned through the flower garden are uneven and a bit odd, but that sort of reflects their designer, I think: a bit odd.

Here in front of the garden shed is what I call my cottage garden.  I planted marigolds in the window boxes because as soon at the hot, dry weather strikes, those shallow boxes are tough to keep watered and marigolds are the toughest plants I know. In front of the shed, Hubby put in a little garden border bed for me. 

I have Sweet Woodruff, a gift from my friends Eni and her late husband AJ, growing at the far left.  It's blooming now with tiny white flowers.  I have some gladiolus bulbs there too, and newly planted zinnia seeds springing up through the tangle. But mostly it's my snapdragons that I love.

I grew all of these snapdragons from seed.  It is a mixed package of the tall types. I love snapdragons. My childhood neighbor, Mr. Hoffman, grew them, and he taught me how to "snap" the flower heads like a Chinese dragon snout.  It's another plant I grow that reminds me of someone.  I love looking at a plant, a flower and thinking about someone I loved who is gone.  The sweet woodruff and mint in the garden reminds me of my friend AJ; the snapdragons and mint, Mr. Hoffman; the new kerria Japonica and coral bells; my mom.  My snapdragons also act like perennials here in Virginia, another reason to love them!

Do you like snapdragons, too?

Cottage garden (sort of) by my garden shed