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| An American cottage garden, Sunset.com’s test plot in Menlo Park, CA |
With so much of our modern lives requiring control and order, there’s something magical about a cottage garden. Structured garden beds have the zinnias and marigolds lined up in tidy rows. Cottage gardens are a bit more laid back, relying on serendipity instead of precision. Old fashioned, hardy and reliable plants are allowed self-sow and meander as long as they mind their manners and are not invasive and greedy.
Cottage gardens are low(er) maintenance. You might find yourself deadheading and snipping back the unruly outliers, but the hallmark method of overplanting cuts down the weeding between plants because, once established, there is no “between plants.”
Cottage gardens are often tasty as well as beautiful, since those of us who are drawn to that style of gardening are very open minded about what belongs in a flower bed. This year, I have a zucchini vine snuggled under my heirloom rose bush and purple cabbage plants next to the hydrangea. In previous years there’s been corn in the cosmos and peppers mixed in with the salvia.
The inspiration for a cottage garden will always be the quintessential English plot with matching thatched roof cottage. But what you do with that inspiration is up to you. Once you have your flowers, what do you add in for interest? A bit of vintage galvanized something, a shabby old toolbox full of impatiens, a trusty Schwinn with a basket full of petunias…I found lots of inspiration for a Vesties and friends cottage garden…
What a Shabby Garden Cottage Collection
My fav Kind!!!!!!!!!
awesome finds!!!!!!
thank you for including mine!
Oh how wonderful, this reminds me so much of the gardens I had growing up. I love the concept of mixed veggie/flower gardens, and would love to implement that at my own home someday. 🙂
Perfect inspiration for a beautiful summer!
My gardens are something I truly enjoy working in. I love your inspiration and combination ideas. Love this post!
Makes me wish I had a garden… in spite of living in a “garden-level” apt. there's no garden in sight! Makes for good advertising though I guess. Thanks for this beautiful post, for those of us who are decidedly garden deficient.