Annie's Garden Cottage
a restful getaway to West Marin
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Annie's Garden Cottage a restful getaway to West Marin |
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The Garden | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Annie’s family has been working on the gardens around the cottage for more than 15 years. When the property was purchased, the areas surrounding the Cottage were overgrown with weeds and unimproved in any way, although a number of notable trees were in place, including an ancient willow tree, its wonderful shape formed by the prevailing winds off Tomales Bay. The willow tree remains, providing restful shade, and several other mature trees, including a spruce and holly, provide definition to the gardens, and a hospitable location for the many birds on the property. The gardens now consist of numerous perennial beds housing over twelve varieties of penstemon, eleven varieties of hydrangea, and over 100 rose bushes, many concentrated in a two-tier garden on the hillside beneath the Cottage. Other bedding plants include cameillias, rhododendron, salvia, nepeta, clematis, daffodils, daylilies, daphne, iris, buddleia, rockrose, Japanese anenomies and perennial geraniums. Annual plantings complement the perennials and provide colorful highlights in the many pots which are located on decks and patios throughout the property. A raised flower bed located just beyond the Cottage gate, is home to tulips and daffodils in the spring, and dahlias and tomatoes in the late summer and fall. Spearmint is grown in the raised bed, and is available for cooking or for an icy summer mint julip. The hillside has apple and fig trees, and a thick growth of blackberries which offer a bounty of fruit throughout August and September. The organic rose gardens are their best in the spring, summer, and early fall, although it is common for some roses to continue to bloom into January, when all the gardens are pruned back. If roses are of interest, a list of the current plantings include:
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