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| Go greener |
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| With a growing number of gardeners eschewing chemicals in favour of natural alternatives, we can suggest some effective products from our organic gardening selection |
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| Relax and refresh |
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| Good food freshly prepared daily, aromatic coffee, chilled wine and a grassy play area for the children. What more could you need? |
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| Food heaven |
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| Our Farm Shop is heaven for food lovers! Delicious handmade food, top quality groceries, fresh fruit and vegetables and stylish cookware and gifts. |
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| The Discovery Walk |
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| As thousands of daffodils herald the spring, stroll or stride around our Walk while the youngsters enjoy the Nature Trail |
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Chocolate boxes and fairy tale cottages
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| Thursday, 10th April 2008 |
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IN THE GARDEN WITH PETA MARSHALL
Chocolate boxes and fairy tale cottages
If you live in a thatched property called 'Daisy Nook' or 'Plum Cottage', then you probably already have a garden that is quaintly referred to as a 'cottage garden'.
But the thing about cottage gardens is that you don't actually have to live in a cottage, nor do you even have to live in the country. The small plots at the back of modern houses, or the narrow gardens of older terraces, make very effective cottage gardens.
The cottage garden is a style of garden that evokes many images, but mainly of chocolate box tops - you know, the thatched cottages of Tudor England. So often the cottage garden tends to be glorified, as if it stepped out of the pages of a fairy tale.
Back in 1982, the Cottage Garden Society was formed. The founders could not have dreamed the Society would survive, let alone flourish to celebrate a 25th anniversary. Cottage garden plants were then "unfashionable" and a whole range of plants like Dianthus (pinks) was rarely found for sale. Over the years the Society has been instrumental in protecting some valuable disappearing plants.
So what defines a cottage garden? The fence, for example, should ideally be of wooden pickets. The fences and gates will create a defined space that should be in proportion to the house.
Arches, trellises, and arbors – such structures should be used to accent doorways, gates, seating areas, and other elements and are a great excuse, especially in combination with fencing, to give a vertical aspect to the garden.
Cottage gardens are most often small and intimate, so go for narrow walkways. The wider path is more social and the narrower more personal. It is also best to take into consideration any needs for maintenance (such as wheelbarrow access). The size of the walkway(s) will definitely influence how the space of your garden is perceived.
The size of flower beds will depend on the size of the house and any defined garden space around it. Beds over 8-10ft. in depth are harder to maintain since you will have to step over and around plants in the front to get to the back for maintenance. If beds can be approached from all sides (not against a wall of fence), then they can be deeper.
But what about the planting? The designs should reflect your own personal mix of plants - whether flowers, fruit or vegetables.
Grouping the same or like plant materials gives them more visual impact than if they are all scattered around the garden. A rule of thumb is to use odd numbers such as three or five in order to create better visual balance, but this need not be done if you are using large numbers of small plants, or if the plants are likely to grow together to create one visual mass. Single plants should generally be avoided unless they are larger specimen plants and are being used for balance or to create a focal point.
As for colour, you should create harmony and balance – whether there are predominantly strong primary colours or lighter pastels. Repetition of a single or multiple colours in a design can help to tie the often-discordant planting style of a cottage garden together.
There should be annuals, perennials, small shrubs (deciduous and evergreen), vines, and small trees – especially fruiting ones – herbs and vegetables.
Annuals will give the garden impact and seasonality. Perennials will give the garden structure, long-lasting stability, and careful selection can give you colour or interest all year long.
Shrubs give the garden a ‘backbone’; evergreen shrubs can add stability to the ever-changing plant palette of the cottage garden and deciduous shrubs can add even more colour and seasonality. Old-fashioned roses are truly some of the best shrubs for any garden, and are quintessential cottage garden plants.
As a result of changes in farming practices, increased use of chemicals, and the destruction of orchards, hedges and ponds, gardens these days provide vital habitats for wildlife. By growing simpler, traditional cottage garden flowers (such as lavender, thyme and other herbs, foxgloves, pinks, old-fashioned roses, honeysuckles and so on), we can help to maintain a diverse variety of birds, butterflies and insects.
Modern hybrid flowers are often sterile and produce little or no nectar for insects, which play a crucial role in pollinating flowers, which often leads to perfect fruits later in the year. Bees in particular need the gardener's help; bumblebees are especially affected by the loss of nectar-rich flowers, and their numbers have declined.
Encouraging biodiversity in our gardens can help maintain the precarious balance of nature.
With a bit of thought you should be able to create a wonderful cottage garden that is distinctly yours. Happy gardening!
This week in your garden
Snap off dead daffodil blooms, and pick off faded camellia flowers. Most other spring flowers can be similarly treated. This ‘deadheading’ prevents plants from expending unnecessary energy in producing seed which, in turn, means that next year’s flowers will be maximized.
House and conservatory plants that have given their all over the winter period are probably in need of a wash and brush up. Dust is an enemy of most plants.
Transplant shrubs or small trees now. Choose a quiet, dampish day. Dig a generous hole for the plant at its new place, before you dig it up from its old place! If it’s large – over 1.2m (4ft) high – shorten the stems by a third, always cutting to a leafy shoot.
Peta Marshall is the plant centre manager at Priory Farm in Nutfield. Website: www.prioryfarm.co.uk
NEXT WEEK: Spires of colour
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