Cottage Gardens

[Ireen Potter]

Hello everyone
I am new on this site. I love cottage gardens and have bought a little 100 year old house on a little scrap of corner section land. About 10 kms inland from Waihi Beach (to give an idea of the climate here). House 100m2. Land 346m2. White picket fence round 2 sides, east and south. West side has my unfriendly neighbour's camellia hedge which has been left to grow to way past the height of my gutters and the north has the neighbours' giant pittosporum and a huge banksia shading much of the garden in the morning. I have sun in winter from 11.30 to 3pm. Because of this issue which has no end in sight (I dont want to bring negativity into my newly imagined Cottage Garden) there is heavy shade in the west in the afternoon. I have good morning sun on the east (road side) of the house and it is here that I plan to plant my hollyhocks, delphiniums, roses: bush and climber/rambler, lavendula angustifolia hedge, lilies, herbs, daisies....you get the picture. And vegetables muddling their way through everything. I would love comments and tips from anyone. I have been gardening since I was a child and am now attempting to make a garden that pretty much looks after itself. And from which I can feed myself as well. I am looking forward to hearing from you all out there.

[Katharin]

I discovered last week bags to plant into rather than into the ground or in pots . No root binding no repotting and you can create compact trees that fruit heavily and use above or below grown . I am using for both fruit trees and ornamental s and filling spaces in my garden where I want something taller but don't have ground space to plant . Also have used in a small court yard where I wanted a weeping cheery to o hang over a water feature . If you can't disguise the bag in amongst shrubbery you can place it in a pot . The bag is very different to planting in pots . They are called Evergrow bags . Check them out on line . Personally I'm very excited about them as it means I can plant more fruit trees and place them where I want rather than be restricted by the ground I have available. Am sharing as you might find useful in your cottage garden and a way of including edibles .

[M0ntyJay]

Cottage gardens may appear wild and romantic, but it takes the right combination of colors, textures, and accessories to pull off the look. I think that the most important in any garden is a fence. Twining plants, like this wisteria, climb walls or trellises and spill over fences or arbors. It will look awesome in your cottage garden.