Five Traditional Elements of a Cottage Garden
- 1. A low fence or stone wall often encloses the garden and is a vehicle for plantings ...
- 2. Berry and vegetable plants, as well as fruit trees, reflect an emphasis on self-sufficiency ...
- 3. Common flowering plants, especially fragrant ones, grow in profusion ...
- 4. Abundant and rambling plants grow right up to the house or other structures ...
- 5. Self-sowers are encouraged ...
What makes a good cottage garden?
Cottage gardens often include structures made from natural or well-worn materials. Weathered wood fences, arbors, and gates are right at home among a collection of cottage plants. Cottage gardens offer informal charm and beauty. See the best cottage garden plants and cottage garden design ideas to start your own cottage garden.
What are the elements of cottage garden design?
The Elements of Cottage Garden Design. 1 Go Informal. Cottage gardens don't look designed. In fact, they're usually exuberant, free-flowering, and sometimes even unrestrained. To get the ... 2 Grow Old-Fashioned Flowers. 3 Select Homey Furniture. 4 Look for Soft, Romantic Plants. 5 Look for Materials with Character. More items
Why do cottage gardens have flowers in them?
The original cottage gardens were planted by British laborers who had little land and no time for flowers. They simply needed food for their family and herbs to treat illnesses so they planted vegetables, herbs, and fruit interspersed with a few flowers to ward off bugs.
What is the appeal of a cottage garden?
A cottage garden's greatest appeal is that it seems to lack any conscious design. But even a cottage garden needs to be controlled. Some of the most successful cottage gardens start with a formal structure and soften the framework with the lavishness of cottage plants.
What makes a garden a cottage garden?
A cottage garden should be located in a sunny area, usually along a walkway towards the front entrance and embellished with a rustic-looking gate or arbor of some kind. The path leading up to the front door is normally characterized by straight lines with an abundance of flowers spilling over each side.
What are the characteristics of a cottage garden?
Though no two cottage gardeners—or their gardens—are alike, most share certain characteristics which proclaim them as cottage gardens. They include a sense of enclosure, strong vertical elements, a small lawn or other “people” space, a wide assortment of locally-adapted plants, and personalized garden accessories.
What is the meaning of cottage garden?
cottage garden in British English (ˈkɒtɪdʒ ˈɡɑːdən ) an informal style of garden which has beds planted with a great variety of traditional flowers.
What is the difference between a cottage garden and an English garden?
The main differences between modern cottage and formal English gardens today are typically size, scale and the professional status of their designers. The naturalistic, organic concepts of drifts of color and succession of bloom make both modern cottage and formal English gardens places of refuge and contemplation.
How do you keep a cottage garden neat?
These tips will help ensure your space is easy to maintain and looks gorgeous every season.Starting a Cottage Garden From Scratch.Invest in Good Soil.Position Plants Carefully.Select Tough Garden Plants.Cover Soil.Use Automatic Watering.Set Off Plants with Hardscaping.Plant Long-Lasting Annuals.More items...•
How do you organize a cottage garden?
Here are a few tips to create your own cottage garden.Go for the Romance. Stachys officinalis 'Hummelo' and Pink Supreme Roses. ... Enclose the Cottage Garden. A twist on the typical picket fence. ... Plant Close/Keep Soil Healthy. Clematis and Nepeta. ... Use Curving Pathways. ... Mix and Match. ... Use Fun Elements. ... Don't Follow the Rules.
Who gave the concept of cottage garden?
Vita-Sackville-West, English poet, novelist, and garden designer had implemented similar models for her 1930's cottage garden at Sissinghurst Castle, where her idea of a cottage garden was a place where flowering shrubs were allowed to mingle with roses, herbaceous plants, bulbs, climbers and seedlings coming up ...
How do you design a functional landscape plan?
Home Landscape Planning Worksheet:12 steps to a functional design.Make a scale drawing. ... Site analysis. ... Prioritize landscape needs and wants. ... Consider maintenance requirements. ... Determine a budget. ... Identify home landscape use areas. ... Sketch functional diagrams.More items...
What is informal garden?
Informal gardens are characterized by following curves, non-symmetrical arrangements of features and spaces and plants that are allowed to grow into their natural shapes.
What is English cottage style?
What is English Cottage Design? English cottage-style design blends antique and contemporary design elements to recreate the look and feel of a quaint home in the English countryside. There are many ways to implement this design style into your home, even if your home doesn't classify as a cottage.
How do I make my garden look French?
2:485:59How to Create a French-Style Front Garden | Great Home IdeasYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipI've got gardenias and lavender in front now if they're clipped and hedged up you might get a fewMoreI've got gardenias and lavender in front now if they're clipped and hedged up you might get a few less flowers but they look very formal. Across the fence and to divide the neighbors.
What are French gardens called?
jardin à la FrançaiseA French-style garden (or jardin à la Française) is a modern gardening style that emphasizes symmetry, order, stonework, geometric shapes, and a limited color palette.
Who gave the concept of cottage garden?
Vita-Sackville-West, English poet, novelist, and garden designer had implemented similar models for her 1930's cottage garden at Sissinghurst Castle, where her idea of a cottage garden was a place where flowering shrubs were allowed to mingle with roses, herbaceous plants, bulbs, climbers and seedlings coming up ...
Are there fruit trees in an English cottage garden?
Cottage gardens can be traced back to the 1400s, the Tudor period. English cottage dwellers, typically desperately poor peasants living in the countryside, carpeted small plots of land with all of the vegetables, fruits and herbs they needed to survive.
What are cottage trees?
Cottage garden trees are usually productive – apple, pear, plum, greengage, damson, cherry, mulberry, quince and medlar are all ideal and dwarfing root stock means that there should be room for at least one tree even in a tiny garden.
How do you design a functional landscape plan?
Home Landscape Planning Worksheet:12 steps to a functional design.Make a scale drawing. ... Site analysis. ... Prioritize landscape needs and wants. ... Consider maintenance requirements. ... Determine a budget. ... Identify home landscape use areas. ... Sketch functional diagrams.More items...
Why do cottages have picket fences?
A front fence neatens the look of sprawling plants and supports tall and rambling flower stems.
What are the grapevines that are woven into a naturalistic fence, garden gate, and arch?
Cut grapevines are woven into a naturalistic fence, garden gate, and arch that support 'Joseph's Coat' climbing roses and 'Roger's Red' grapevines that have broad heart-shaped leaves.
What materials are used for front gates?
Natural, rustic materials—painted wood, bent willow, even latticed bamboo —suit this purpose, as long as they harmonize with the house. This goes for front gates, too, which, in keeping with the cottage, are often welcoming and low, marking entries rather than discouraging approach.
What is a cottage garden?
A cottage garden has lots of flowers. At its heart, today’s cottage garden has an abundance of flowers. That probably didn’t emerge until enough people had the space and the leisure to grow flowers for pleasure rather than just food to survive.
What are the rules of cottage garden style?
There aren’t any. That’s the whole point. There’s no need to plant in threes and fives, or in drifts or to think about colour combinations – unless you want to .
What are some good cottage garden plants?
Popular ones include erigeron, nigella, fennel, forget me not, poppies, Lychnis coronaria or rose campion.
Why were herbs grown in cottage gardens?
Herbs would have been grown in cottage gardens to use medicinally, for dyeing and even to make cleaning products.
How did cottage dwellers get the leftover plants?
There’s a theory that cottage dwellers got the leftover plants when the head gardener from the ‘big house’ divided them up. And presumably friends and neighbours would have then divided the plants further.
What is naturecraft garden?
The Naturecraft Garden by garden designer Pollyanna Wilkinson (RHS Hampton Court 2019) showcases plants which can be used for food, medicine or other purposes.
When did cottage gardens start?
It seems likely, however, that the cottage garden as we know it today dates back to Victorian times when people started to have a little more time and money, so they could grow flowers for their own enjoyment.
What to put in a cottage garden?
When you seek to recreate a traditional cottage garden, incorporating vegetables, berries, and fruit trees is par for the course. From there, add in herbs and fragrant flowers. These plants were picked for their usefulness in addition to their aesthetic value.
What inspires our image of a typical cottage garden as being beautiful and timeless, but it was also functional?
Nostalgia inspires our image of a typical cottage garden as being beautiful and timeless, but it was also functional. One can’t forget that country homes, especially if they were some way from a town or market, were often required to be self-sufficient. 1.
What plants were used to cover barnyard odors?
Spiraea ‘Anthony Waterer’ and lavender behind. Fragrant plants were useful for covering barnyard odors as well as for cooking and making herbal remedies. Sage, lavender, thyme, catmint, and others were typical of a cottage garden.
What are some of the best plants to grow in a cottage garden?
A new generation of plants was adopted as pivotal to the cottage garden look. Roses, foxglove, clematis, violets, daisies, and many others began to be associated with the cottage garden. These plants make up the cottage garden as we know it today.
Why are fences important in a cottage garden?
Their main purpose was, of course, to keep animals and rodents away from the vegetables. Yards around the cottage were also fenced to keep chickens and other domestic animals in and the predators out. Today the fence still serves this purpose, but its role has been expanded. A low stone wall or picket fence offers a backdrop to flowering garden beds and supports climbing plants.
What vines have overtaken this tool shed?
A climbing hydrangea vine has overtaken this tool shed, showing the horticultural bias of its owner. Photo from Landscaping Ideas That Work by Julie Moir Messervy (The Taunton Press, 2014). Design and photo: Suzanne Albinson
What materials are used to make a cottage garden?
Many paving materials work in cottage gardens, including wood chips, stone, old bricks, and flagstone.
What to look for in a cottage garden?
Most cottage gardens have a romantic feel. Part of that feel comes from the flowers. Look for blooms in soft pastel shades. Also look for plants packed with petals, such as peonies and old roses. As an added bonus, many of these varieties are also wonderfully fragrant. 4 of 12. View All.
What are some examples of old fashion flowers?
They're usually filled with the same traditional favorites your grandmother would have grown. Some popular examples include peony, cosmos, foxglove, snapdragon, pansy, bachelor's button, columbine, bleeding heart, and hollyhock.
Do cottage gardens have fences?
Though not every cottage garden has a white- picket fence, the two do seem to go hand-in-hand. You don't have to use the fence to create a boundary. A short section simply could hold up favorite floppy perennials.
How big is a cottage garden?
Cottage gardens are always compact, typically a quarter-acre or less in size. A brisk, two-minute walk will usually take in the entire garden. Because space is at such a premium, the garden in evitably tucks right up against the house, completely embracing it.
What are some of the best plants to grow in a cottage garden?
Within the constraints of climate, American cottage gardens are certain to contain a good number of traditional English cottage garden plants—old-fashioned favorites like peonies, irises, lilacs, roses, and clematis. Traditionally, cottage gardeners have a special fondness for self-sowing annuals and biennials, plants that more sophisticated gardeners might consider weeds. Larkspur ( Consolida ajacis ), annual poppies ( Papaver spp.), Canterbury bells ( Campanula medium ), Johnny jump-ups ( Viola tricolor ), and hollyhocks ( Alcea rosea) pop up each spring to fill every nook and cranny, adding to the garden’s overstuffed, comfortable ambience.
What are some native plants?
Even more importantly, native plants have a regionally appropriate “look” or “feel.” When used in a garden, native wildflowers, trees, and shrubs provide an echo of the surrounding landscape and help link one to the other. We’ve used Southwestern natives such as fernbush ( Chamaebatiaria millefolium ), dwarf rabbitbrush ( Chrysothamnus nauseosus ), winecups ( Callirhoe involucrata ), and an assortment of plains and desert cacti and penstemons that relish our harsh climate. Our relatively meager rainfall of 15 inches per year is sufficient for them. These sun- and heat-lovers are a challenge to grow where the weather is wetter and milder, and their success here attests that this is assuredly a Colorado cottage garden.
What are some decorative elements that are used in American cottages?
More decorative forms of ornamenta tion offer further clues to regional identity. American cottage gardeners have always drawn on their immediate environs for inspiration and materials. Seaside cottages are often decorated with seashells, driftwood, and nautical geegaws. Southwestern gardeners indulge in such cliches as hanging cow skulls on their fence posts and employ wooden wagon wheels for all manner of uses.
What is front yard?
Front yards, formerly open to public view, have been enclosed and transformed into intimate spaces. Hardscaping is usually minimal, but most of these cottage gardens are bisected by a path and many include fences, trellises, and patios constructed of natural, indigenous materials.
What is a garden called that is bursting at the seams?
In America, “cottage garden” has always been a catchall term used to describe a garden that is bursting at the seams and does not otherwise conform to a recognizable style. But these gardens, while highly individualistic, do share a few common characteristics.
Is the gar den a cottage?
Invariably, the house is modestly sized as well, but it is still the gar den’s dominant, central feature. It is the “cottage” of the cottage garden, even though actual cottages are rare in most of America. I suppose we could call our version “house gardens,” but then we would lose the romantic connotation.
1. Starting a Cottage Garden From Scratch
"Don't create a monster that you don't have time to feed regularly," Trout says. "Keep your cottage garden small, and most of all, fun." Over time, as your confidence grows, increase the size.
2. Invest in Good Soil
"Starting with good, rich, organic soil where plants will thrive with a minimum of watering and fertilizing cuts the work from the start," Trout says. He also recommends doing a soil test to learn the type of soil you have. Add organic matter yearly, either by purchasing compost or making your own.
3. Position Plants Carefully
Much work in a cottage garden design comes from not having the right plant in the right place, either because of the variety's full size or its preferred growing conditions. As you gain gardening experience, you can push the envelope, Trout says. "But the healthiest plants—ones that need less care—are those that are in ideal conditions," he adds.
4. Select Tough Garden Plants
Some of Trout's favorites on his cottage garden plants list include spring-flowering bulbs, purple coneflower ( Echinacea purpurea ), wild indigo ( Baptisia australis ), 'Stella d'Oro' or 'Happy Returns' daylily ( Hemerocallis ), New England aster ( Symphyotrichum novae-angliae 'Alma Potschke'), and Russian sage ( Perovskia atriplicifolia 'Blue Spire').
5. Cover Soil
" Mulching helps maintain soil moisture levels and prevents weeds from growing," Trout says. "As organic mulch (bark, compost, or leaf mold) breaks down, it improves soil. Mulch also gives the garden a neater, more unified look."
6. Use Automatic Watering
Trade dragging a hose around for hands-free watering. Trout recommends using drip lines because "it's easy to put the water exactly where you want it, and not on the foliage or flowers." Plus, he points out that it's efficient because "less water evaporates into the air."
Set Off Plants with Hardscaping
Boulders, laid out in natural-looking formations and dug one-third of the way into the soil, are good year-round anchors that complement their flowering companions. In addition, a picket or rustic fence makes a fitting backdrop to a cottage garden, adding order to the visual chaos of mixed plantings.
Who planted the cottage garden?
The original cottage gardens were planted by British laborers who had little land and no time for flowers. They simply needed food for their family and herbs to treat illnesses so they planted vegetables, herbs, and fruit interspersed with a few flowers to ward off bugs.
What is the smell of cottage garden?
The call of a cottage garden, filled with a profusion of flowers and smelling of roses, dianthus, and lilacs, is alluring indeed. The image of a resplendent, colorful garden has enticed many a homeowner to install a picket fence and a bounty of flowers in the hopes of creating such a haven.
Why do cottage gardens have pastel colors?
Most cottage gardens seem to set a romantic tone. Maybe it is because pastel shades are favored here or perhaps it is because fragrant flowers are popular in this kind of garden. Peonies and old roses scent the air and add that touch of sumptuous sensuality.
How to make a garden bed look good?
Good, rich organic soil ensures that overflowing plant beds look great—and plants stay healthy—from day one. Make sure to incorporate plenty of compost in the soil and use compost, tea, or fish emulsion fertilizer. Also cover the soil with mulch (not dyed).
When did the British cottage garden become a flower garden?
Around the end of the eighteenth century, members of the well-to-do gentry began to idealize the cottage life and created their own version of cottage gardens. It was then that the British cottage garden was transformed into the flower-filled setting that we dream of today. Here are a few tips to create your own cottage garden.
What flowers can be planted on a picket fence?
Picket fences are popular as are lattice fences which can support flowering vines such as clematis, wisteria, and climbing roses . The picket fence is the traditional favorite and there are many variations on this theme that you can consider. And remember that you can use any color you want for this fence!
