New Beginnings

This is always an exciting time of the year here at the cottage. Seeds have been sown , ground has been tilled, fertilised and weeded. 

This for me is exciting stuff. My Boston Ivy is getting an early start this year. I’m looking forward to seeing our front wall completely covered in it. This stuff grows really fast once it takes off!

And let’s not forget the Bluebells! It’s the first big wave of colour for the season, and here you can see the buds just starting to peek out -

And finally, look who’s back at work??

It’s my beloved Summer Hubby! This and the clocks changing tonight tell me that springtime is really here.

Happy planting, everyone!

Crafty like a Fox

It’s no secret that I love my garden. But during these bleak months when I can’t be outside, I must bring nature indoors. This is how my passion for crafting was born. 

Once I had filled the cottage with my painted furniture, I started my small crafting business ,Lovely Things by Luna Claire. 

 Working in my garage studio can be a chilling experience this time of year, so to keep busy I’ve added papercraft to my creations, handmade in the warmth of my cosy country kitchen!

                                                       

Taking my inspiration from my feathered and furry friends, I call this line Moonlight Cottage Cards & Papercraft, and it’s officially my new obsession —   

 

“Painter of Light” Revisited

This is the time of year that my posts tend to go dormant. The garden is sleeping, and we visit family in the States. But today I am inspired to share with you an incredible chance encounter that happened a few days ago.

I was enjoying a visit and stroll through downtown Fort Worth with my dear friend, Anna.  On our way to a nearby restaurant, we passed an art gallery with many lovely, familiar paintings in the window that confirmed it was a Thomas Kinkade gallery!

For those who remember my original  Painter of Light posting, my obsession with cottages began many years ago with Thomas Kinkade’s beautiful paintings. Imagine my surprise to stumble upon this gallery and to actually meet the late artist’s sister-in-law, Laura Kinkade!  We had a lovely chat, and I told her how we named our cottage after one of his paintings!

It was such a thrill for me, and I’m so grateful to Anna for suggesting that we go in. Here’s
Thomas’s beautiful “Moonlight Cottage” -

Click here to read my original post!

Hydrangea Hype

 

I have slowly become obsessed with hydrangeas. They seem to grow themselves here in Co. Cork. In fact, there was an enormous Lacecap growing here when we bought the Cottage. It was overgrown to the point of being unmanageable, so I let my hubby talk me into cutting it to the ground. I fully intended to replace it with a rose hedge, but it came back flowerless but very healthy the following year. And THIS year, we got this -

Over 6 feet tall now!

This next one is a mophead that I got as a Mother’s Day gift 3 years ago. It was an indoor plant, but is thriving outside on a large pot -

I recently added these pink Annabelle shrubs put by the road. 

This is a miniature Curly Wurly that I keep on our porch -

I love the cupped petals on this one. 

I added 2 large Curly Wurly shrubs in pots to our patio.

The obsession is still growing, so next season we may add some white varieties to the collection!

In Living Colour

This is the time of year I dream about when I'm planning my garden design.  Colours are bursting forward all over Moonlight Cottage, and I am loving every minute of it!

Alyssum is one of my all-time favourites in the garden.

New lavender hedge is blooming nicely

I love the spiral trunk on this Bay tree

Night Sky petunias never disappoint!

You can never have too much PURPLE in your garden

New stone window boxes, guaranteed hurricane proof!

Words can't express how much I love these Curly Wurly hydrangeas!

Those lovely shades of pink and purple, and the cupped flowers make me smile. 

You may remember that last October, we lost some big trees to ex-hurricane Ophelia. It's interesting (and sad) how the absence of those trees has changed the landscape, literally, around our cottage.

The first thing I notice this summer is that part of the house, especially the kitchen, gets much warmer during the day without the benefit of those big shade trees.  More sunlight means more heat, and it also means MORE WEEDS.  I've never pulled this many weeds in my life as I've done the past couple of months!

We took advantage of a sale on trees a few months back, so we've now added these beauties to our back garden.

At the back we've planted five silver birch trees, just in front of that cool Monkey Puzzle tree
that was revealed after the big trees came down.

Here's another view of the birch trees. Just beyond are two red maples that 

we planted on either side of the new shed.

This is a baby Norway spruce. We had a huge one back here that we had to

cut down last year as it was dying.

The nursery also gave us 10 aspen trees. They're really just twigs,

but they are now leafing out and they were FREE!

Here's one of the Aspens just as buds began to open.  I can't wait to have

that beautiful fall colour. Aspens are fast-growing and lovely!

Judas tree right after planting in March. Back in Texas I had one of these,

we call them Redbuds.  Next spring it will be covered in purple blossoms.

Here's that Judas tree leafed out.

I have so many more ideas that I want to put into this beloved space, so stay 

tuned to see what comes next!

Concrete Evidence

We finally made some much-needed additions to the outside areas. The first task was to pave the driveway.  You might remember the drive when we first moved in. There was a concrete base there, but it had all kinds of issues.




Not only did it have a big bump out at the street entrance, but it was also poured on top of an existing rock drive, putting the driveway level above that of the interior, resulting in damp issues inside our bedroom. To correct those issues, our builder dug it out and traveled it. This was a much better solution than the original, but we gradually concluded that the gravel was a bit treacherous for me to navigate in heels! It was also difficult  to roll the bins down to the end of the driveway on collection days.

We decided to pave the drive, so now it’s a tidy, smooth surface -

The next task was to put a footpath up to the clothesline and shed. That hill can be a real slippery slope, so a set of steps and a concrete path did the trick!

The next project will be to add some landscaping to soften the path. I’m thinking lavender, so stay tuned for the pics!

Beaming with Pride

Anyone who knows me can't be too surprised that I ended up in an Irish cottage with a purple door and a white picket fence.  Those people will also not be surprised at our latest addition -

WE'VE GOT BEAMS! LOTS OF BEAMS!

Sitting Room

Sitting Room

Sitting Room

Hallway

Hallway

Kitchen

Kitchen

Our builder extraordinaire, Anthony, made quick work of this project! I stained the beams the day before he and his assistant did the installation.