Here ya go.... new thread. This is Part II from http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/667391/#new
Suzy
Just wondered what YOU think makes a cottage garden a cottage garden.
Suzy
Below is a synopsis of the posts made by CG forum members pertaining to what we think makes a Cottage Garden, well, Cottage-y.
COTTAGE GARDEN DESIGN
Generally speaking, a Cottage Garden uses curve instead of straight lines; or curves within straight lines.
It has grass, or a path, to lead the eye.
There is an absence of any pretentious plan; a cross between formal and messy. Balance the perfect topiary with a forsythia.
The plants should be allowed to grow into each other so it is just a riot of colour, shape and texture. No perfection is expected and all the happy accidents just seem to work together.
A little mystery. One shouldn't be able to see the entire garden at once. A little curving stepping stone path around the birdbath to a hidden bench or courtyard.
The surprise factor. One should have to walk around that curve to see -- oooh! a birdbath! An obstacle at eye level such as an obelisk with a climbing or rambling rose or a small shrub (eye-level height) might be used.
At least one resident animal: Chicken, peafowl, cat or dog. A CG is a natural habitat to butterflies, birds and other wildlife because of the abundance of different kinds of plants used as food and forage. Purposefully including some larval host plants will attract even more. Bunnies are welcome as long as they only munch on clover especially planted for them.
Other Elements of a More Permanent or Structural Nature:
Structures. An arbor entwined with climbing rose is a classic cottage garden image. Add a bench, a rustic gate, stone or brick path, birdbath and flower containers like window boxes, clay pots, stone troughs or tubs. Aim for simplicity, though--it's easy to cross the line into kitsch.
from an article by Claire Hagen Dole, Publisher/editor of Butterfly Gardeners' Quarterly. Summer 1995. Back issues available from BGQ, PO Box 30931, Seattle, WA 98103.
[HYPERLINK@butterflywebsite.com]
Use arbors, trellises, fences &/or hedges to create the little rooms or zones in your Cottage Garden. One zone could be a pond or other water feature.
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A Cottage Garden should be interactive garden, welcoming the viewer to walk the paths, touch the lamb's ear, smell the herbs and blossoms, observe the butterflies and bees up close. Cottage Gardening is a style that encompasses the 5 senses, not just to be viewed from the road.
Two Different Styles; both are Cottage Gardens:
Extravagant Abundance: the feeling of lushness barely kept in check -- climbing roses or berry vines rambling together with Clematis, but might also have Rudbeckia and Solidago.
Cottage Prairie:Native plants, which are hardy and appropriate to the region's style might include the same Solidago and Rudbeckia as above, but might also have rosa rugosa and red raspberries. This style is characterized by native plants and grasses and a feeling of self-sufficiency.
Either of them would likely have climbing and shrub roses instead of perfectly pruned hybrid tea roses planted on 36" centers.
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PLANTS AND PLANTINGS
Flowering trees and shrubs - deutzia, forsythia, and if they're fragrant like Viburnum or shrub roses, then all the better. Flowering shrubs such as Buddleia, lilac, mock orange, Viburnum, holly, Flowerin vines such as honeysuckle or clematis. Taller self seeding and low maintenance perennials like Hollyhocks, Foxglove, Delphiniums, Phlox, Larkspur, and Campanula. Texture and variety are essential.
Choose some loose-growing, less formal looking plants... maybe a few things that form tidy mounds or archetectural spears, but also plants like Guara, which tosses little blooms every which way on wiry stems making "fillers" between more tidy or large-flowered specimens.
Plants which are grown very close together. In theory they are meant to look as if they were put together at random, without any real plan behind them, but in reality it takes a certain amount of thought to create a garden that looks entirely natural.
A stretch of lawn makes a "sea of green" which leads the eye. Or a path can do the same.
Consider the Scent: Lilies, Dianthus, Petunias and other scented flowers will enhance the garden.
Continuous bloomers are nice for color all summer and on into fall, but a CG is the one garden style that can support all colors, not look ragged even when something is past its prime because so much else is going on.
It wasn't actually discussed, but edible plants such as herbs & edible flowers, vegetables and fruits are a necessity. This might mean a full potager or just some basil and nasturtiums.
No garden is ever truly finished; experiment, learn from mistakes, and most of all, have fun!
Cottage Gardening: So what makes a Cottage Garden. Part II
Thanks, I didn't think this thread would ever be done, but the fragrance thread would have been fine.
Prairie, will do. They grew pretty good for me in one year. (Agastache.) I'm just getting into them myself so I'm anxious to see how big they'll get for me. I got mine from ''High Country Gardens.''
That's where I figured you got it from, LOL. Agastache rupestris looks like it may be a bit hardier, isn't that one of the parents? I have Blue Fortune and another one that was given to me by a friend, I think it's A. foeniculum. There is even a yellow one, and one named 'Ava' & I have a little niece named Ava.
I had/have the white one. I tore most of it out, but with reseeders like that, you never really eliminate them. One year the side branches went out and up. It looked like a candlabra. It was about 6' tall too. The flowers are tiny tiny, but the bees love them. I just got the blue hyssop too. I've never tried a yellow one. Ava, that's a pretty name. Once I was going to have my rose bed all names. Lucille Ball, Cary Grant, Dolly Parton, etc. I did have Cary Grant and he died. So did Abe Lincoln after many years.
Well the "yellow" one is a native, but it looks a little greenish, not really yellow. You'll like the blue one. Ava looks really pretty, and they live in California, so I was thinking of giving one to my sister.
Great synopsis, Illoquin!
I think a basic art theory should be kept in mind for the CG as well -- odds are better than evens. (Obvious exception would be a tall juniper at each side of a gate or doorway, of course.) But three or five is more pleasing to the eye than two or four. I really have to fight my symmetry -obsessive/compulsive nature in this, and it's difficult! (I'm a quadruple Libra, so I blame it on that!) You can balance without mirroring.
My sweet peas, by the way, are JUST beginning to show! They're on an A-frame trellis just off the back porch, and keep the eye from seeing the little pond garden right away. If they'll grow, it's sure to be CG-worthy. I'll post any successes.
brigidliliy - Do what I do, if you end up with four, plant three together and then the odd one a short distance away, LOL. That lends repetition, another basic design concept.
You guys are so good. There are days when I am happy if I can just get my plants into the ground!!!
LOL - whereas I'm lucky to be able to get a shovel into my ground!!!
At least we all have ground to get shovels into! Even if it's only pots -- I don't think I could do without a garden again. I was out there this morning and worrying over things that don't look just right, and even fretting feels good when it's gardening related!
Definite CG element -- joy!
Completely agree about joy. And fretting! I like to fret as much as anything!
Yup, there's always something to be happy (and fretfull!) about - you're so right.
Nice overview Illoquin. Very well done!
For those of you in the warmer zones, Citrus trees can't be beat for fragrance.
Having just moved this last year from FL to TN I am missing my oranges, lemons, grapefruit and key lime trees, as much for the fragrance as for the fruit.
carol
I grow the citrus trees inside and put them out on the porch after danger of last frost. Bring them back when a freeze is predicted. I've got the lemon in our guest bedroom right now and guests notice the scent. The point is: don't let a colder zone stop you!
McGlory: What kind of lemon tree do you have? Don't they get too large to put in a guest room (or maybe yours is huge).
I've just put two clementines out in the back yard. Oh, I hope they're happy there!!! I adore the fruit, but I especially love the scent of the blossoms. Nothing like it.
I could deal with a huge pot, but how do you have enough sun for them inside?
Suzy
Is this a cottage garden? I planted this in 1990 in Napa, CA. Use some native and some cultivated plants. I always thought it was a cottage type planting. Hope the photo is not too small
Here is a bed at the same place. I think it is borderline formal.
happy, are you ready for a laugh? Everyone laughs at me for this, so my feelings won't be hurt. :-) I don't know what kind of lemon it is. It started as kind of a joke when I put in a bunch of apple trees in the backyard in the spring of 2005. DH's friends started calling me Orchard Annie and asked if I was going to plant lemons and oranges next. So I ordered these from Michigan Bulb. (Yes, I know!)
http://michiganbulb.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_03343_A_Citrus%2C+Miniature+Collection_E_
When the four citrus "trees" arrived the spring of 2005, they would fit in my hand roots and all! They really took off out on the porch, and I brought them inside for the winter. I killed the orange almost immediately after bringing it indoors, but I blame that on using a different potting mix for it.
Here is a picture of the lemon in the guest room. You can see that neither the lemon nor the room is huge. The lemon, however, flowers every couple of months, and even if it only gets a couple of blossoms (it had 14 once when it was only 2" tall) it produces a lovely scent.
Except for the orange, they have done well. The lime has a citrusy scent if you get close to it, and I haven't noticed any scent at all from the tangerine, but it hasn't bloomed either. I got a banana at that same time, and it's had to be re-potted to accommodate what is now a 2" diameter trunk.
So my point is this: Don't let the colder zone stop you. No, it's not like having lemons and grapefruit in the backyard providing shade and fragrance, but it is a way to enjoy something that's unusual in this part of the country. I'm thinking maybe next summer I'll take them off the porch and set them in one of my flower beds. :-) Enjoy!
Here is the lemon by itself, so you can see how small it is. The tangerine is smaller, but the lime is about three times this size.
Back to cottage gardening.....
So sweet! You're right -- it made me laugh -- I had envisioned something towering over the bedroom!
Dale, I agree that your first pic is cottagey. Nice work!
Dave
Dale, I echo what Dave said. The first thing I thought when I saw the first pic was "he's got the idea!" I don't know if I have the idea, but I reconize it in others. I agree too that the second pic is more formal. They are both absolutely lovely.
Yes Dale, I agree, very cottagy, especially the first shot. And I love the colors you've used!
Dale, the vote is in. I think all you'd have to do, if you wanted the second one to be entirely cottagey, would be to add something odd -- and NOT in the exact center. An iris in a pot, or a little statue or birdbath or something. Maybe stick in the occasional tallish plant. Or is it big enough to put in a little obelisk for a climbing rose? Zephirine Drouhin would fit the color scheme, so you might want to think Joseph's Coat instead (to de-formalize it). If you replace anything, use something with a different texture.
BTW, I love both gardens! I don't think you have to do anything to either of them!
More images--from in front of a local nursery where I shop. These plants are summer annuals here, but, are perennials in most of the USA. We don't get much winter chill in coastal FL. Is this cottage or prairie?
Here is another, by the same designer, at her home. Cottage, for sure.
Here is last summers beds at Lisa's, my design. I would call it barely cottage.
I love the grass in the last pic, what is it dale? I would call the first pic more prairie than cottage, but the second pic is dead on. It also answered a question I asked myself about alternating two plants as edging, it looks great if they're jammed together, don't you think? Just goes to show, in cottage gardening there are no hard and fast rules!
P Girl, it is Giant Liriope, tops out at about 24-32". Not hardy in your zone 5.
How about the forest floor look:
This message was edited Dec 22, 2006 9:12 PM
I'd say number one is prarie cottage! I think a lot of it has to do with the lack of formality - no separation, no tidy little shapes and a profusion of color and types.