My Real (little) Flower Garden

One of the things that I would like to get better at is gardening. 

 

When I envision what I would like my flower garden to look like, images like this come to mind.  I am often a tad bit unrealistic when I think about what I would like to accomplish (can you tell?).  I mean really, this picture was probably taken at Buckingham Palace or somewhere like that....  Because I tend to have unrealistic goals, I am often disappointed by what I have the time, money, and energy to do. Every year, I have had grand plans of turning my entire front and back yards into my own little mini pieces of heaven, but I have realized that lack of time (and lack of palace) make it impossible for me to do what I would REALLY like to do with my yard.

So, this year, I'm aiming low.  Low expectations = less chance of failure and disappointment. I know, I sound like a real go getter. ;)  I am finally realizing that I can't do it all, and that's ok.  There will be a time of life that I will be able to have a large flower garden, but that time is not now.  So right now, I'm doing what I can.  I have decided that instead of making plans for every square inch of soil in my yard (and only actually following through with about half of it, and doing a pretty bad job with that half), I'm going to pick out one flower bed, yes, just one; and I'm going to do what I can with that, and not worry about the rest.  I'm excited to see what I can do when I only have one small section to focus on.  So, here is what I've done so far:

Before

After

I know, it doesn't look very grand yet, but this is just the first step.  I just decided what I wanted to keep and pulled everything that I didn't want.  The next step is to put some compost on the bed.  I am also planning on researching the types of plants that will do well in this part of my yard (it gets morning and some afternoon sun).  I'm excited to see how it progresses! 

Disclaimer:  Before you think to yourself, "How does she have time to do that along with everything else?!  I need to get my act together," just know that I would not have gotten this done if not for my husband who watched the kids and my gardening loving mom who came over and helped me...and, I thought about posting a picture of the inside of my house, but I chickened out.

Also, if anyone would like to join me and take the time to make your own little flower garden, I would love to see pictures of your progress!!  Happy Gardening! :)