I am ever inspired by our dear Kindred, Jeri Landers! Her extraordinary post, which revealed the building process of the most adorable potting shed I have ever seen, can be found on her Hopalong Hollow Gazette.  So, as the weather was compliant, I determined that this would be the day I would transform our well house into a darling, welcoming, gardeners cottage...a tiny place to dream and plot and plan and rock...yes, I would carry a little white rocker, along with gardening books, watering can, and other various and sundry supplies, by way of our Radio Flyer wagon, down the long drive, to the well house.

How can one peruse this lovely English Cottage Gardening book and not feel the urge to create? Tasha Tudor's inspiring words and photos of her enchanting gardens was ever-present as I set out to the task ahead.



Built in 2007, (and completed the day before our wedding that June) its purpose was to house the well and pump  in an inconspicuous way. My husband had found plans, and set the artisans to work. It was to blend in with the style and roofing of our barn, even including a cupola with a horse and carriage weather vane.
Over the years, it has collected fishing poles, old paint cans, fish food, seasonal decorations, bug spray, wasp spray, nails, hammer....trash...folding tables and chairs...trash...spider webs, bugs...and more trash (the kind that is left in the bottom of a plastic shopping bag and tied in a knot...tossed in a corner for later retrieval...and is never retrieved).  This must end...today!
I choose an inspiring name for my little cottage, juxtaposed between our home and the pond. I will call her "Morning, Glory", in honor of the announcement my daddy would make, on the first day of the new school year, standing at my bedroom door, early in the morning, every year, as long as I can remember, followed by, "It's gonna be a big day!"
So I stand here, on the first morning of Spring gardening, and wake this darling cottage with a hearty,


Can you see my Hollyhocks? Xavier and I  planted them last Spring and by summer they had yielded only one, solitary bloom. How thrilled I was to wade through their leathery leaves, this morning, and discover buds....oh, my gracious...it is a wonderful omen! Sleep, Creep, Leap!!


I could not bear to post photos of the mess that greeted me....so I tucked the camera in my apron, extracted every occupant...down to the last dusty sprinkler...and swept with great passion. As the wind was having a heyday, it seemed every bit of dust and dirt that was swept out, re-entered with as much force as had been used for its exit. In the end, determined as I was,.... and with the help of a dust pan...I and my broom prevailed. Long awaited order was brought to the tiny abode, and with much satisfaction, I rocked.


Surveying the room, I  contemplated a vintage floor lamp, and possibly some shelves, for those things that need to be kept out of reach of little ones, pretty curtains for the miniature windows, and on and on my mind wandered....
I love the vintage tablecloth and its pink morning glories. I will keep my eyes peeled for a weathered table and ladder back chair. The folding table will do, for now. This is, after all, a work in progress.