Modern Cottage Garden, The: A Fresh Approach to a Classic Style

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Consider arranging a seedling swap with friends, so you can share your home-grown wonders, and make your garden more diverse. Also learn how to take plant cuttings to multiply your collection of plants for no additional cost. Cottage gardens weren't designed to simply look pretty. They were mainly comprised of planting areas with a focus on growing fruit and vegetables, alongside companion planting that often had practical purposes, such as medicinal value,’ she reveals. How do I start a cottage garden from scratch?

My garden is narrow, so I’ve used plants to create flowing shapes in the garden, rather than stiff, straight lines, he says. "Plant out the largest, structural plants first. Evergreen shrubs or perennials and small trees will give you a solid framework to fill in with your diverse and exciting, colourful, impulse buys and nostalgic flowers. It’s like baking a cake and then going crazy with the icing and decorations." Be curious about plants Glasshouses are intrinsically linked to a romantic, comforting notion of Englishness,’ says Martin Toogood, chairman of Hartley Botanic, which creates luxury glasshouses for both the US and European markets. When it comes to accessories for cottage garden ideas, floral fabrics are your friend. From outdoor cushions to throws and rugs, choose designs in soft pastel shades and pretty patterns to add interest to your space. Container garden ideas provide the perfect way to punctate hard landscaping in your cottage ideas. They also offer wealth of other benefits too.

Layout and materials

I adore old-fashioned flowers and that pretty cottagey look,” she says. “I’m not particularly knowledgeable but I’m willing to have a go! My favourites are anything fragrant and colourful, including sweet peas, Michaelmas daisies which are bulletproof in the hot months, equally hardy chrysanthemums, plus dahlias and lupins.” Plant to promote informal crowding of perennials, annuals, vegetables and foliage plants. Use rich organic soil and mulch. I do know of one cottage next to a church where the paths are made from recycled grave stones laid face down so the writing is hidden.)

Once established, meadows are quite low maintenance, needing cutting down after flowering and cuttings removed so they don’t increase fertility,’ says Clapp. ‘Annual meadows will need some repeated sowings; others will improve over time with many plants self-seeding to reinforce the natural effect. As your perennial meadow matures, add in some new plants for a longer season of interest, such as spring and summer bulbs.’ Then take some time to enjoy the sight of butterflies, birds and bees attracted to this beautiful space by the intoxicating aromas and lovely blend of colors. Cottage garden plants

Origins of the cottage garden

Note that the pergola posts will inevitably shrink and swell with changes in ground and weather conditions. As the installation proceeds, it is imperative all pergola posts are set vertical and remain in line at all times otherwise the pergola will not be structurally sound,' Leigh says.'A good spirit level must be used throughout the process to ensure complete accuracy.'

The style began to change in the late 18th century, when members of the gentry romanticized rural cottage life and created their own cottage gardens with an abundant planting of flowers. Medieval cottage gardens grew out of a necessity for self-sufficiency, but their informal and slightly haphazard aesthetic has seen many a renaissance over the last two centuries. From the heyday of the Arts and Crafts movement to the Chelsea Flower Show in recent years, the cottage garden is constantly being reinvented, and it could arguably be seen as an important foundation of modern, naturalistic planting design. According to garden designer Tracy Foster MSGD, historically, as well as being pretty to look at, the plants in a cottage garden earned their place by being easy to grow, useful, edible or a mixture of all three.When deciding on your planting schemes, take inspiration from kitchen garden ideas as well as companion planting ideas to help you combine the best mix of blooms and crops. The original cottage gardens were productive plots for the less well off. They were about growing fruit and veg to feed the family. Flowers were brought into the mix for various reasonsNatural materials such as cotton, linen and bamboo will be soft to touch and in keeping with the natural country vibe. Don't forget about table linens, too, for your next vintage-style garden party. How do I start a cottage garden? The beauty of bulbs is that they are perfect for any size of garden, will divide and naturalise over time and also require minimal maintenance. Plant a mix of the best summer bulbs and the best spring bulbs to ensure a continuous display throughout the warmer months.

Alan Titchmarsh recommends pea shingle. You can lay it straight on to firmed and leveled earth that’s weed-free or put down a weed-proof membrane to suppress them, he explains. Dobbies Horticultural Director, Marcus Eyles, reveals his step by step guide for creating a cottage garden: Prepare the soil 'First prepare the soil for planting by forking in plenty of manure or garden compost and remove any weeds.'Wooden edging works well with bark mulch paths. This can be pressure treated boards set on edge to outline the path. Railway logs will last a long time too. From Tudor times until the Victorian era, cottage gardens were functional rather than decorative, with an emphasis on productive culinary and medicinal plants, and flowers to aid pollination filling any spaces in between. Once you have the main path installed, you need to decide the size of each bed. If you want to be able to reach all areas of a garden bed easily, it should be no wider that 4 feet. If you want a garden that will delight all of your senses, a cottage style garden could be just the thing for you. In this blog we’re looking at how to create a traditional cottage garden with a modern twist.