An English Cottage Garden Is ...
“... above all things a place of uncontrived beauty,
easily enjoyed, where labour is well rewarded
and quiet pleasures satisfied.”
Ethne Clarke and Clay Perry
English Country Gardens
It's almost eleven years since I began to realize my dream of creating an Engish cottage garden in the Poconos. On Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, July 2011 I wrote,
"One of the elements of English cottage-garden style is a profusion of
flowers in a variety of colors and textures. The overall effect appears
'uncontrived,' but in reality a great deal of thought goes into the
choice and placement of plants. My garden has been six years in the
making, and this year (for the first time) I feel I have achieved the
effect I have been striving to create." I am redoing the 2011 posting with updated pictures to see how the dream continues. I note where I'm using the original photographs of those flowers still strutting their stuff. The words in bold/italics are from the original posting.
It is quite difficult to define
English cottage-garden style without going into its history, but some
other elements include planting old-fashioned flowers, adding structures
to create 'privacy,' using lots of pots of plants, making informal
pathways, and using 'whimsy' to give a sense of enchantment. I went
outside with my camera this morning to record what is blooming on this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day July 2011
and that's when it struck me that at last I have an English cottage
garden. Please take a walk with me to see if those elements are really
present ...
1) Plant for profusion
This is my biggest herbaceous border, filled with purple cone flower,
liatris, gooseneck loosestrife, shasta dasies, and daylilies - to name a
few of the perennials. More recently I removed the liatris to the entrance garden (first picture) and planted bee balm in the main border (below) ...
As soon as you enter our driveway you can see from the butterfly garden by the house-number sign that I plant for profusion. H.H. put a birdhouse on the back of the post that displays the house number.
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Purple cone flower, milkweed, cleome, liatris and white phlox |
2) Plant old-fashioned flowers
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David Austin Rose Rosa 'Lichfield Angel" |
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Left to right: Goats Beard, Cleome, Yarrow 'The Pearl', delphinium, purple cone flower |
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Shasta Daisy Leucanthemum (photo 2011) |
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Lambs' Ears Stachys byzantina (photo 2011) |
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Phlox Paniculata 'Bright Eyes' (photo 2011) |
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Veronica -- I forget which one -- added last year |
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Campanula 'Cherry Bells' |
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I planted hollyhocks since the original posting |
Hollyhocks are a 'must have' for an English cottage garden, so I am making them my July pick for 'Dozen for Diana.' Visit Diana's blog at
Elephant's Eye on False Bay in South Africa and join in the fun.
2) Add structures such as picket fences and arbors.
The arbor into the kitchen garden has two wonderful clematis draped over it ...
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Clematis Jackmanii 'Tie Dye' |
The cedar fence at the back of the shade garden provides privacy and adds a vertical element to the space.
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Climbing hydrangea grows over the fence and mock hydrangea over the swing |
3) Pots of plants
One of many pots of annuals ...
The unusual red flower with the pointed petals is a petunia that I grew from seeds that Nancy Ondra sent me. Nancy blogs at
Hayefield.
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Petunia exserta, marigold and bacoba in a tub in front of the hydrangea |
I display several hanging baskets. This one H.H. bid for and won at a silent auction when we were at the Pocono Garden Club Flower Show where I was guest speaker.
4) Informal pathways
The destination at the end of this pathway is a grouping of planters and an ivy in a birdcage. You will find a birdcage containing ivy in many English cottage gardens.
5) Whimsy to create enchantment
I like to hang mirrors on fences ...
In the last five years I've added several fairy gardens. My latest whimsical creation is a simple basket on a gate containing a cute unicorn and fairy that H.H. found at the thrift store.
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Miniature hosta, sedum and fairy on moss |
In the collage below, some other flowers blooming in my garden on this
Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day are (clockwise from top right) milkweed,
hydrangea, coreopsis, perennial geranium, and lavender.
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Photographs 2011 - similar blooms today |
Here are some of the daylilies blooming today
...
The pond is looking quite lovely surrounded by cottage garden flowers ...
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Looking across the main border to the pond and the rose garden. |
I hope this combination of two postings isn't too confusing. Go to the original post by clicking
here and compare the pictures today with those five years ago. Do
you agree my dreams of creating an English cottage garden in Pennsylvania have been realized?
Thank you, Carol, for hosting Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day on your wonderful blog. On the 15th of each month, I look forward to visiting
May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming around the world.
Happy GBBD, everyone!
Pamela x
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