Cottage gardens (part 1)

I've spent the last few hours browsing pictures of cottage gardens on the net trying to find one that appeals to me most, because I think everyone has an image in their mind of that quintessentially English rural cottage garden. Its been difficult to find one that ticks all my boxes, I can't even use a picture of my own (I'm having issues that I'll save for another day). Cottage gardens can be one of the most difficult gardens to get right. I think it stems from what we imagine them to look like, they have a real nostalgia, a romantic glimpse of an age that's disappeared and trying to recreate one that fits that image in our minds (and hearts) can be difficult to pull together (or maybe that's just me).
So I've decided to not show a picture of a cottage garden.

The original true cottage gardens were more about function than form. They were productive patches growing vegetables, herbs, fruit and livestock. Flowers weren't really high on the agenda. The local gentry had the flowery gardens, seed from these would creep in to the cottagers plots on the wind or by birds. Its the wealthy landowners gardens that our idea of the cottage garden comes from.
There was a brief trend in the 18th century for aristocrats to create cottage ornees (fake cottages) so they could sample the quaint country life of their hard up tenants.

Cottage gardens were revived in the late 19th century by the arts and crafts movement probably as a back lash to the formal styles of the Victorians with their love of huge displays of bright carpet bedding.
One of the most influential designers was the incredible Gertrude Jekyll who teamed up with the architect Edwin Lutyens to create some of the most beautiful planting schemes ever seen.

Other notable (really really good) examples of gardeners and gardens include Vita Sackville-west at Sissinghurst, Beth Chatto and the late great Christopher Lloyds Great Dixter

So, history lesson over.


Oh go on here's a picture


This is the Chelsea Pensioners Garden From RHS Chelsea 2005 (the year I was there)

Chelsea girl

My love affair with Chelsea began 4 years ago,
I've always been passionate about plants,from when I was a tiny little thing I've know the names of most wildflowers and trees and I've been gardening since I was in my teens, a window box here a hanging basket there, borrowing a small corner of a neighbours allotment and pottering about in my mums garden.
But it was 4 years ago that it become more than just a hobby. At the time I was working for a company who were sponsoring a show garden (along with the wildlife trust).My head office department thought it would be a good P.R thing to send a few shop staff up to the showground to "help out" with the gardens construction the week before Chelsea opened. My manager knowing I had a bit of green finger put my name down and off I went to London.

I think all the other staff that had turned up over the week had hung about for an hour or so, had a few photos taken holding a spade and then, disappeared to go shopping on the kings road. I on the other hand fell in love as soon as I arrived I just found the whole thing incredible, the plants, the people, the whole atmosphere. I got stuck in straight away chatting to all the builders, quizzing the designer about everything, swooning over all the plants. I was in heaven.
After proving my mettle I was given a 2ft by 2ft corner to finish planting all on my own, helped clean out the pond and helped to lay turf in the meadow area. I ended up staying on till 10pm (I was meant to go home at 4pm) and had one of the best days of my life.

I think it was when I was standing knee deep in sludgy water helping to drain the pond for the second time that I realized this was exactly what I wanted to do with my life.
I wanted to be a gardener.

So within a few days after my Chelsea Epiphany, I'd enrolled at college and began devouring every Plant, garden and design book our local library stocked. I went out to the scrappy backyard behind my little flat and pulled up all the weeds and designed and created my very first attempt at a cottage garden all of my own.

And now here I am 4 years later working as a horticulturist, living the good life in the country with my dream (still work in progress)cottage garden and still being madly and passionately in love with plants and gardens.

So the Chelsea flower show has an important place in my heart, and one day you'll see me there with my own show garden.

(my garden 2005 image via giles landscaping)