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In bygone days cottage gardens were primarily cultivated for their utility value rather than simply for landscape beauty. Nowadays, however, cottage gardens have plants more prominently grown for their ornamental value and their medicinal uses have elapsed.
Its hallmark is a profusion of plants: flowers and herbs, fruits and vegetables, and close growing shrubs.
Vigorous vines such as honeysuckle, clematis or roses may be trained as eyebrows over windows, or soften broad expanses of walls - conveying a sense of coziness and abundance.
The controlling element to all this unbridled profusion is the structure of the garden. Traditionally, a cottage garden is enclosed by hedge, wall, or fence, with a gate to the front door. While the beds flanking the path need not be mirror images, there should be repeating patterns of plants and colours on each side.
Conventional cottage gardens typically contain flowering plants that cover the ground and grow up and above structures. Old-fashioned plants are ideal as they tend to have small, delicate blossoms that mix happily with other flowers and plants, not competing for centre stage.
A cottage garden planted with too many large, brightly coloured modern hybrids risks becoming an overwhelming dissonance of colour and form. Because plants are spaced closely in a cottage garden, weeds tend to be shaded out, which is a great boon. Nevertheless, the garden still requires care.
Many plants normally used in the cottage garden reseed themselves and plant the garden. Since a cottage garden is an intensive growing situation, for best success, one must start with high- quality soil mix, rich in humus, and top-dress it each spring with well-rotted manure or other organic amendments.
The structural elements in the cottage garden include an enclosure - the fence, especially of wooden pickets, arches, trellises and arbors. Such structures can be used to accent doorways, gates, seating areas and to give a vertical aspect to the garden.
Again, they should be of a style and material to complement the home and they should have a purpose for being. Walkways need to be in proportion to the size of the property and garden.
Cottage gardens are most often small and intimate, so narrow walkways are acceptable. While determining the size of a walkway, it is also best to take into consideration any needs for garden maintenance.
Materials for walkways are numerous and your choice should blend in with the materials and character of the other elements in the garden. Cottage gardens are inherently very busy texturally with its plants; hence it is best to keep the number of different hardscape materials low. Areas of turf could be included if the garden is of a size to accommodate it or if there is a need to have some space for children to play.
