For gardeners who love the riot
of shapes, colors, and textures to be found in the cottage garden, Stephen
Westcott-Gratton’s Creating a Cottage Garden in North America offers a
rich mix of history, practical advice for starting one, design tips, and
plant profiles—especially of those native to our continent. Although this
cozy style of garden originated in England among peasants who needed pretty
practically—it fed pigs and other livestock and it also satisfied the need
for the beauty of flowers—it has much to offer the modern American
gardener.
For instance, traditional
English cottage gardens had about the same amount of garden space as do
modern homes in many urban centers. Applying the wisdom of a garden style in
which plants—whether flowers, herbs, fruits, or vegetables—are packed
densely together makes perfect sense for the gardener with only a
postage-stamp yard. Not only will the happily commingled plants give great
visual treats, such as an occasional tomato or green pea struggling up
through the clematis, but their profusion will usually out compete weeds.
Creating a
Cottage Garden in North America is not only a definitive, hands-on guide to
this popular garden style, but it is also a lively read that reveals the
romance and the reality of the cottage garden.
