I have an old Earth Garden Book that I’ve had in my possession for some 50 years now. Printed in 1973, its pages are yellowed by time but they still have a bearing on what people were planting and making, those many years ago.
Leafing through it recently and hoping to get some ideas for a story, I came across a section dealing with cottage gardens and their value to the home gardener.
The traditional cottage garden is generally small, but packed with flowers and shrubs, untidy in appearance but colourful by design.
It’s a happy garden, a poor man’s garden, a garden where time could be spent soaking up its beauty.
No two cottage gardens are the same and flowers grow where they will, often self-seeding making the area seem alive with colour.
It mentioned that to make the garden effective that the smaller plants should be at the front with the taller plants in the rear.
There are many types of flowers that can go in this garden, sunflowers, daffodils, tulips and sweet peas to name but a few. There are even packets of bought seed that will give you a rewarding display.
Gardens occupying spaces near buildings could be planted differently with a small hedge or a bed of roses as a boarder.
Small tubs and ornaments housing different plants could be then scattered throughout the garden offering the visitor a peek into different aspects of what is growing and their value to the display.
It is said that colours can’t clash in a cottage garden, as anything goes, no right or wrong.
Maybe, if gardening is not a strength of yours, maybe planting a cottage garden would be the way to go, rambling, mixed up plants, colours mixed in together, all with one thought in mind, a vibrant colourful display with little ongoing maintenance.
Way back in 1629, John Parkinson suggested that flowers should be planted so that the place will look like a tapestry of many glorious colours.
Audrey Ellis in her Kitchen Garden Book described a cottage garden as being “a place of delightful disorder”.
Even way back in 1972. there were books galore about gardening and home cooking, sadly these books, as beautiful and as informative as they are, are no longer the prize they once were. But still for sale on Amazon.
Today one can search the internet for any imaginable thing you want to know about gardening. From finding out what’s wrong with your plants to what flower is that. Countless apps are available to help your gardening exploits.
Maybe if you are looking for something different, a cottage garden may be right for you.
Until next time.
