While the subject of this article is the decorative cottage garden, it is important not to overlook utility plants. Many utility plants can fulfil all our decorative requirements, and yield a useful harvest as well. For example, take some of the odd nuts and fruits which make an unexpected, but welcome addition to the garden. [...]
One of the others that can be dealt with in the same way if necessary is the larkspur. Not that the larkspur is a single entity, for there are at least two popular kinds derived from different annual species of delphinium. The rocket larkspur is the one that is usually associated with cottage gardening and [...]
Not a problem likely to be encountered with the ivies. Certainly not with those derived from our native Hedera helix. These are all very tough and are available in a wide diversity of leaf shapes and colours. All prosper in cool conditions and are ideal for clothing north or east-facing walls. Contrary to popular belief, [...]
Clematis are regarded by most gardeners as the queen of the climbers and justifiably so. This diverse genus, which includes a few non-climbing species too, has a range of colour, form and flowering period unequalled by any other group of climbers. The diversity of clematis is such that they can be used in almost any [...]
Sweet peas epitomize the cottage garden flower. Not that the sweet peas which we grow today were anything like the original ones grown by the early cottagers of England. Although introduced by a Sicilian monk in the late 1690s, it was not until well into the 1800s that- Henry Eckford first made any progress with [...]
The hardy ferns were very much a part of the cottage garden. Unfortunately many of the extremely fine named kinds grown during Victorian times were irretrievably lost during the First World War and their popularity subsequently waned. They are now seeing a marked revival and despite the lack of improved garden varieties, there are still [...]
Most of the flowering shrubs which we lovingly cultivate have their origins in the cottage garden. Unfortunately few have retained the charm of former years, plant breeders having worked upon old favourites and turned them into bigger, better and more colourful characters with greater disease tolerance. Often scent has been lost in the process, but [...]