Lifestyle
How to achieve a perfect garden
Something many gardeners aspire to is creating the perfect ‘Cottage Garden’. We’ve all seen them in magazines and gardening programmes, and when you close your eyes you can picture exactly what it should look like. But, how to achieve it?
Cottage garden plants are primarily roses and perennials, along with clematis for height and sometimes some topiary or low hedging. As always, I am going to be boring and say that it is all about preparation – most perennial plants and roses need deep, rich, well-drained soil, a sunny aspect and shelter from wind. That is why the ideal picture usually features a walled garden or the backdrop of a cottage. Most of these plants also prefer a slightly alkaline soil. So, it is definitely worth considering where you wish to situate your plants and prepare the ground for them by adding drainage, sand and lime if necessary.
To create a cottage type garden with an abundance of interest, it is important to take scale into account. The height of the tallest plant at the back should be equal to half the width of the bed. Plants should be grouped in threes for impact, and if you are short on space, try to repeat one variety three times at intervals instead. This makes for a coherent whole.
Decide on a colour palette
I tend to think in pinks, pale blues and whites with a bit of yellow here and there, but equally warm reds, oranges, yellows with a bit of deep purple or bright pink works. Roses are an integral part of the cottage garden, and with so many beauties to pick from I will devote next week to them. Perennial plants are the second large group of plants used in cottage gardens. Some which look well together in warm colours are Day lilies, rudbeckia, helianthemum and Asiatic lilies.
Cooler colours which work well are delphiniums, aconitum, agapanthus, nerine and liatris. Dahlias come in so many shades and shapes they can be found to compliment any colour scheme, as can begonias. For taller plants at the back, try Giant Scabious with its pale yellow flowers reaching to two metres, the azure blue flowers of chicory, deep purple of verbena bonariensis, or bright magenta of Knautia. Again, gladioli are ideal for the back of any border, though the butterfly types will only grow to about 60cm.
At the front go for lavender, catmint, or hardy geraniums. Greenery is of great importance among this abundance of flowers. I have several beautiful Mahonias ‘Soft Caress’ throughout my garden. They flower yellow in winter but have delicate feathery foliage all year round. Alchemilla mollis is another of my favourites, with its lime green foliage and flowers it provides an ideal foil. Grasses and ferns also provide interest. I cannot stress the importance of mixing some foliage plants in as it is these which allow the eye to observe the flowers!
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