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An Introduction to the Cottage Garden Style

© Susan Ward

Romantic. Artless simplicity. Fragrant profusion. Inspired serendipity. All of these terms have been applied to the cottage garden style by various writers at various times. But what exactly is the cottage garden style and how can we achieve these wondrous qualities in our own gardens?

Don't be put off by the vagueness of the concept; the cottage garden style is infinitely adaptable. After all, it's been evolving for hundred of years. While we tend to visualize the classic cottage garden as a brilliant mass of climbing roses, lupines, peonies, foxgloves, hollyhocks and dianthus charmingly nestled against the walls of a thatched cottage, you don't have to live in a cottage in the country to successfully grow a cottage garden. The cottage garden nowadays is whatever we want it to be; unlike the formal bedding schemes so beloved by Victorians, the cottage garden uses plants to create a landscape as natural (and useful) as possible.

Still wondering what it's all about? Get some inspiration from an online tour. First, to sample the flavor of the cottage garden style, go to http://www.mun.ca/botgarden/tour/cottage... and visit the MUN Botanical Garden (at Memorial University in Newfoundland). You can see the basic features of the typical cottage garden here; the informal groupings of plants, and the use of structures such as walls, trellises, and curved paths to give the garden character and charm. I find their definition of the cottage garden particularly apt; "Cottage gardens were usually planted with 'starts' or 'slips' from friends and relatives so they became a garden of memories, as well as a garden of relaxation and pleasure."

England is a great place to find examples of cottage gardens, of course, as that's where they originated. Mandy Alford's English Country Garden ( http://www.alfresco.demon.co.uk/cgs/cont... ) is in Netherbury, a small village in Dorset, in the South West of England. Click on the Garden Tour icon to see some lovely examples of cottage garden beds and read her descriptions. Once you're inspired, you might want to go back and browse her handy plant lists or check out her recipes! One of the great things about the cottage garden style is that it's so inclusive; because of its practical origins, vegetables, flowers and herbs are all mixed together, depending on the gardener's needs.

That's one reason the cottage garden is ideal for those of us who live in cities or suburbs. A fabulous example of cottage gardening in a small space is Graham Leatherbarrow's Paradise Garden at http://www.maigold.co.uk/intro1.htm . Graham is our 'English Town Gardening' Editor here at Suite101; what I love about his site, (besides the gorgeous pictures), is the extensive information he gives about the plants in his garden. It is, as he warns, graphic intensive and slow to load, but well worth the wait.

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