Hello to you,
I’m so glad to be here with you on this beautiful Friday.
Welcome to the ‘Porch Journal’, a short-letter series where I share small reflections and behind-the-scenes thoughts on living a smaller, simpler, more beautiful life. These are quick, easy reads, about a minute or two - just enough for a mid-morning coffee break.
Here is northern Arizona at 6,000 feet, we have a lull in the landscape and the garden during that period most of you might call “high summer”. The monsoon comes with torrential rains and from mid-July to mid-August everything seems to take a breath.
And here we are on the other side of that with the warmer light returning, and the true joy and abundance of summer now in full swing. We are only just getting started.
I’m excited to share with you some of the beauty and color from the gardens here at Juniper Hill Cottage.
Even if you’re not a gardener, I know you’ll find some late summer inspiration.
The Containers
If you know me, you know I can never have enough plants, and containers are what allow me grow some things that may need to be moved in the dead of winter in order to survive.
Also, pots give me the flexibility to enjoy some specimens up closer to eye level which creates layered texture.
Purple shamrock (oxalis) blooms all summer; sedum in the iron tulip pot; sweet potato vine; succulents next to the dragonfly gate to the kitchen garden; hedgehog cactus; various succulents and euphorbias which will likely not overwinter, and finally blue spruce stonecrop which will survive even the harshest winters here.
The oxalis and sweet potato vine are annuals - unusual for me but they are delightful.
The Pales
The more I garden, the more I’m drawn to the softer shades of white and cream - they catch the light and contrast beautifully with the darker greens so abundant in the garden most of the summer.
Buddleia or butterfly bush - this one’s highly fragrant and is a dwarf size called ‘White Profusion’; Echinacea fragrant angel; Delphinium casablanca; Fennel; Chrysanthemum (perennial), and a mystery mushroom very pleased with the wet monsoon season.
The Rosy Ones
Honestly, bright pinks are not in my go-to palette for my own gardens, but this year I added this magnificent echinacea that might have changed my mind.
Echinacea ‘fragrant angel’; English lavender; Agastache ‘apricot sprite’; Flower carpet rose ‘amber’; Salvia nemarosa; Sedum sun sparkler.
If your garden feels like it’s missing something, or not quite pulled-together, it may partly be the color intention.
Most gardens happen by accident, over time - a plant here, a plant there, whatever was on sale last week at the garden center. But when you start thinking in color palettes (and seasons) everything shifts and settles.
You may not need more plants (I know that’s hard to accept). Try to notice what you already have and fill the gaps deliberately.
The Jewel Tones
The rusty coppery warm hues, purples, blues and yellows - and not a sunflower in the mix here.
While it might be hard to appreciate in an image the grass in the top row, middle spot is one of the most glorious late summer bloomers that catches the evening light and literally glows a warm burnt orange-magenta at the very tips of the blades. And it’s just very difficult to capture, so you’ll have to trust me.
Cranesbill ‘raven’; Shenandoah switch grass; Tall verbena; Hardy plumbago; Hedgehog cactus and coleus; Hardy plumbago; Salvia sinaloa; Chocolate flower, and Mexican Hat.
As ever and always: all images are taken by me, here at the cottage and are copyrighted - please enjoy but do not share without permission.
For you if you’re a gardener - Most of what is growing here in these gardens at Juniper Hill Cottage is water-wise with very rare exceptions. A fair bit is drought tolerant. Much of it is native North American. And almost the entirety are perennials or biennials.
Thank you so much for following along and exploring this colorful abundance with me. I’m so happy to have you here with me on Fridays.
Resources & Frameworks Coming
Everything I share in these letters - the garden pots, the color combinations, the plants I’ve fallen in love with and the ones that surprised me - it all connects to something I’m building for you.
If you’re someone who wants your home and garden to feel genuinely beautiful and intentional, but you’re not sure where to start or what’s actually worth your time and attention - that’s exactly the problem I’m working on solving.
I’m developing structured resources, frameworks, and eventually experiences built specifically around smaller, simpler, more beautiful living. You’ll hear about them here first.
Stay close.
With contentment & possibility,
P.S. Confession - The truth is that I never actually designed or planned this landscape here at Juniper Hill Cottage. I admit it. I only do that for design clients and sometimes I wonder what I would change if I went back with pen in hand.
If you’re a gardener, do you plan your palette intentionally even if not the whole garden? Or does your garden just happen as your whims and the garden center sales ebb and flow?
Also, if you’re a gardener and dying to know specific plant names/cultivars, just drop a comment - I’m happy to share.