Inspiration for Our Modern Cottage Landscaping

You may have seen on Instagram that we’ve been sharing some inspiration for our landscaping renovation! Thanks to the massive Texas snow-maggedon this past February, we were finally pushed to tackle the yard (we lost all of our shrubs and plants so the yard has been looking very naked). 

Preparing for this project has required lots of patience, but I’ve been thankful for the extra time to refine the style and final designs for these areas. I’m envisioning a Mediterranean modern cottage style with tons of drought tolerant plants, gravel beds, and a soothing green + white + purple color palette. 

Achieving this look with our temperamental Texas weather will be a bit more challenging than it would be in a mild, California climate. I visited all the local nurseries this past spring and researched plants that will thrive in our zone (we’re in planting Zone 8) while also creating the same aesthetic. We still plan to experiment with a few varieties (I’m determined to keep a lavender plant alive here!) but have found tried and true back-ups like Catmint and Sage Santa Barbara that are just as beautiful. 

via Falling Waters Landscape

Loving the modern rectangular pavers shown below. We have some major drainage issues because our house finished floor was set too low (since my husband and I are both engineers, this is the most ironic annoyance ever!). My solution to remedy the issue is replacing our flooding sidewalk with spaced pavers and gravel to allow water to percolate through the unavoidable low points.

Our landscape list includes:

    • Agave
    • Rosemary 
    • Catmint Nepeta
    • Salvia Luecantha (Sage Santa Barbara)
    • Lavender (fingers crossed)
    • Lambs Ear
    • Little Ollie Dwarf 
    • Blue Fescue
    • Miscanthus (Morning Light)
    • Diamond White Yarrow 
    • White Wands Veronica 
    • Pentas
    • Limelight Hydrangea
    • Large Mossy Boulders 
    • Neutral ‘Mediterranean’ Gravel
Agave
Lavender
Rosemary
Moss Boulders
Dwarf Ollie
Blue Fescue
Sage Santa Barbara
Lambs Ear
Neutral Gravel

Check out my landscape Pinterest board for all the inspiration I’ve saved (you can tell from the amount of pins this has been occupying my mind for a while ). In addition to landscaping the beds around the house, we are replacing the front sidewalk, adding a side patio + pathway in back, and installing a raised vegetable garden. Lots to do – stay tuned for more!

2 Comments

  1. Reply

    Sarah

    09.09.2021

    I really love these ideas and can’t wait to see what ya’ll end up doing with your yard! Are you planning on doing it yourself or outsourcing it to someone? When we redid our yard last summer, we hired a landscape architect and it was so worth it!!

    • Reply

      Kelsey

      09.13.2021

      Thank you! Because of our backgrounds in engineering/construction, we did the design work ourselves and hired out for the drainage, concrete, and grading labor. We will be building the garden, prepping the beds, and doing all the planting. Having had quite a few hot, labor-intensive weekends already, I 100% agree – hiring out when you can is so worth it!

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Hi, I'm Kelsey - Sharing design inspiration and renovation projects as we make our house into a home we love

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