Starting your own cottage, entrance, rose, serenity or vegetable plot.
By Cynthia Van Hazinga |
No matter where we live, we love the look of a country garden—a colorful showcase of thriving easy-care flowers, and sometimes herbs and veggies, too. The look is abundant and informal, but it calls for planning so that it comes together and looks not tousled and weedy, but like a place for you to linger and enjoy.
The first step in planning a country garden is deciding what you want to grow and what you have. The trick is to match plants to your site and soil. Most plants thrive on sunshine—at least six hours a day, and most need good soil and a steady water supply. Fill the space to capacity, keeping lawns and hardscaping to a minimum, so it looks as if nature had a hand in planting. Start small, you’ll learn as you go—gardeners are life-long students.
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 TOP: Cottage gardens have evolved since the days of violets among the cabbages. They’re now seen in town as well as country, usually updated with easy-care annuals and perennials arranged in a natural, informal style. Cottage gardens look unplanned, are crammed with fragrance and color, and look as if they’re having a wonderful time.
Use colorful, free-flowering annuals like these cosmos, snapdragons, cleome and tall verbena to create a joyful jungle.
LEFT: Front gardens are important: They set off your house, display your gardening taste and skills, and give even city dwellers that country feeling. If the only space you have is between the door and sidewalk, pack it with eye-catching flowers and back it with small shrubs—perhaps even a trellis of roses. An exuberant entrance garden is a gift to the whole neighborhood.
Cramming every inch with bright annuals and lilies makes this just-off-the-sidewalk garden look lush.
Photo: Nance S. Trueworthy |
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For some people, the idea of tending a garden without including edibles is unthinkable. If you long to grow fresh vegetables in a decorative way, combine them with flowers and herbs in a well-plotted working garden. This culinary and floral intermingling is a centuries-old practice in the French countryside, known there as a potager. Take inspiration from this tradition and indulge your hunger for tasty, garden-to-kitchen produce.
The best place for a kitchen garden is as close as possible to the house. Here, sunflowers and corn, basil and cabbages grow happily together, with the gathering basket right at hand.
photo: Karen Bussolini |
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