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In old England, many people who worked in small towns were called peasants, and they lived in small houses with very small gardens. These gardens, which are called “English cottage gardens,” would need to meet all of the family’s gardening needs. The kitchen garden would have a mix of fruits and veggies.
Along with all of these different kinds of food, they would also grow flowers. Read on to learn more about how to make a simple English home garden.
Cottage gardens are like Colonial gardens in that they are set up in a similar way and use many of the same kinds of plants. In an English cottage garden, the most famous flowers would be:
English country gardens had a style that grew out of the needs of the times. They were mysterious and smelled wonderful. If they hadn’t been able to grow their own food, many families would have gone hungry.
The gardens of the landowners, or gentry, were much more formal than the gardens of the peasants. They had square boxwood hedges, straight lines, stone paths, and many beautiful statues of old gods. They would also have waterfalls with water that flows into a lake or pond. Some people thought of them as classics because of how well they kept order and behaved.
When romanticism became more popular, people thought that plants could make us feel things, and the home garden was born from this idea. The French impressionist painter Claude Monet made one of the most well-known country gardens. Cottage gardens, with lots of roses growing over the walls and flowers climbing up the vine-covered arches towards the sun, are now often copied in the North.
The tall, beautiful perennials fighting for space in the back of the borders create a lot of different textures and shapes, and the smaller plants in the front of the borders are determined to lift their heads to the sun so they don’t get outdone by their taller cousins. Together, this makes a palette of colors that would be hard to beat. The other benefit of this type of garden is that it makes it harder for weeds to grow. This is because the plants’ branches block the sun from getting to the ground, which makes it impossible for weeds to grow.
Don’t be afraid to put seeds close together if you want to make a cottage garden. This will give you the look you want. Choose different shapes. Mix plants with fluffy leaves and spiky leaves, and mix plants with bold leaves and delicate leaves. Put a plant that is spreading out next to a plant that is standing up straight. The best rule of thumb is to put tall plants in the back of your borders and small plants in the front.
Most of the time, try to plant in odd numbers like three, five, etc. If you have a very large border, you can group up to seven or nine of the same plant together. This method gives your edges depth and shape. Also, think about the plants. Some gardeners say that the leaves are more important than the flowers, but it can be more rewarding to see colorful flowers nodding in the wind and turning their faces to the sun.
In the end, it all comes down to personal preference, but get your hands dirty and have fun whether you like straight-line gardening, formal gardening, or country gardening.
If you haven’t thought about gardening with native plants yet, you might be shocked by how many benefits it can bring. Native plants are easy to grow because they are already used to their surroundings. Native plants like honeybees and butterflies need a place to live to do their job, and birds and other animals will be happy to visit your yard.
Because native plants are “at home,” they are hardy, can survive in dry conditions, and don’t need pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizer most of the time. These plants even make the air and water better and stop the soil from washing away. Are you ready to try gardening with plants that grow in your area? Before you start, it’s a good idea to learn about gardening with native plants and settings for native plants.
Native plants are plants that grow naturally in a certain place without any help from people. Native plants in the United States are those that were already there before European settlers arrived. A native plant environment can be a country, a state, or a certain habitat.
For example, plants that grow in the swamps of Florida would not be able to live in the deserts of Arizona, and plants that grow in the tidal waters of the Pacific Northwest would not be able to live through a Minnesota winter.
No matter where you live or where you grow, you can still find native plants doing well. If native plants are built well and with their natural habitats in mind, they won’t need much care because their natural environments meet all of their needs.
Putting together an English garden is a fun adventure that lets you take in the beauty of nature. You can grow your own piece of an English garden paradise if you plan carefully, choose plants carefully, and take good care of them.
Yes, you can change the ideas behind English planting so that they work in smaller spaces.
They do need regular care, but if you plan ahead, you can reduce the amount of work you have to do.
Yes, for sure! Adding native plants to your yard can make it better for the environment.
Start your English garden in the spring or early fall when the weather is warm and the plants do well.
By pruning and separating plants as needed, you can keep your garden from getting too full and keep it in balance.
