The cottage garden style is as old as there have been poor crofters and cottagers in England. Cottage gardens weren't considered a style at all until the late 19th century when gardener and garden writer, Gertrude Jekyll, shouted their cause. In her opinion, the cottage garden was a very good source for design ideas as well as wise gardening tips.
The Old English Cottage Garden
In the English cottage garden, the gardener of old filled every space with any plant that was freely available. He increased his stock by propagation, begging cuttings from neighbors and exchanging seeds.
The first plants to fill the cottager's garden were plants that sustained the family and filled the larder and root cellar. Vegetables, fruits and herbs were more important than flowers. Flowers may have first arrived in the garden as a need – larkspur to counter lice, or yarrow to reduce a fever.
The result was organized chaos. A row of hollyhocks would line a stone wall. Rambling roses would climb into apple trees and over the rooftop. Runner beans grew up sunflower stalks, cabbages lined the path, shadowed by larkspur, bright orange poppies, pink phlox and gooseberries. The gardens were so full and colorful, it would have appeared that everything was flowering at once. But there was charm in the chaos.
Planting Ideas for the Contemporary English Cottage Garden
Contemporary gardeners can learn much from the design of the English cottage garden and there is a revival of the cottage garden in England, as well as in North America and elsewhere.
Small mixed gardens are becoming popular choices in both the design of the garden and its uses. Consider the family's needs for fruits, herbs and vegetables and add those plants here and there throughout the garden.
- Add an apple tree to garden, not a flowering crab, but an actual apple tree. To save room, purchase a multi-graft apple tree for a variety of edible apples. It could be planted in the flower bed as was a cottage garden tradition, rather than on its own in the lawn.
- Mix culinary herbs within the flower beds or keep them in a special bed by the kitchen door for easy access.
- Cabbages and other vegetables are quite sculptural and attractive. The gardener shouldn't see them as being out of place in the flower garden or perennial border. They are perfectly fine at the base of a climbing rose and will offer great shade to the soil cooling the roots of clematis.
- Grow runner beans up the stems of sunflowers. When the seeds of both plants are planted at the same time they will grow up together and the gardener will not need any other support for the beans. This idea is a perfect choice for the tall plants at the back of the border, but give them room with both sun and size in mind.
- The contemporary cottage garden is full, but with less chaos and seeming disorder. Rather than plant a tomato vine here and another one there, plant them together. And directly beside it should be not one, but three or more delphinium or other perennial. Planting in groups or en masse as it's known, is easier on the eyes.
The Contemporary English Cottage Garden
The layout in the contemporary English cottage garden is more defined. The chaos of the cottage gardens of the past has given way to cleaner lines and well-ordered beds. Gardeners can still have a neat and tidy garden, but might consider spreading their "useful" plants throughout the space. Planting garlic beside a rose, will still keep the bugs at bay. Orange marigolds will still keep the squirrels from nibbling. The wisdom from English cottage gardeners is still put in practice today.
References
Cottage Gardening in Town and Country, Philip Swindells, Ward Lock Ltd., 1986
The Gardener's Essential Gertrude Jekyll, Breslich and Foss, 1983
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