English Style Cottage Garden

[RoseMary]

Do any of you have an English style cottage garden? I've always loved the tangled, carefree look of them but wonder how much trouble it is to get the 'look'--I'm sure that it is not a 'carefree' where the work is concerned! Also, living where I do, I worry about snakes lurking around in one if I had to wade out into it.

[Lisa S]

I had to laugh about the snake part. I'm deathly afraid of snakes and we have them everywhere. I cuss like a sailor whenever I see one! I just pulled out all of my vinca minor the other day, because I saw a few snakes slithering out of that spot last year. Yuck!

The previous owner had planted an English garden in part of our yard. I think it would have been a nice idea, but she never weeded it and it was a mess. For two years I tried to clean it out, but I was fighting an uphill battle. I ended up moving the plants to different spots in the yard and bulldozing it. It was so hard to do and totally against my nature, but I felt like I didn't have a choice.

I've noticed that two or three types of plants planted en mass gives the English garden look without too much of a jumble.

I'm interested it the advice you get from other people. I could sure use it too.

[RoseMary]

Whatever advice I get, the snake factor will still be a big influence on my decision as to whether I'll try to plant one. Like you, I can't stand the sight of them. My oldest daughter says that's why she'd like to live in Ireland--no snakes!

[Lisa S]

If the snake factor is big ~ then don't do it darlin', don't do it!

[dedavis]

What kind of snakes are they? Garter snakes are OK, they eat pests. We have rattlesnakes around here, but they don't come in the yard. And they're still hibernating. The first dead animal my cat Henry brought me was a garter snake. They don't stand a chance with him around.

The best gardening books are English, in my opinion. I used to get a magazine called English Garden--it's fun. There are lots of ways to garden, from formal to cottage. The traditional cottage garden is a semi-controlled jumble of plants. Roses and perennials would be the backbone of it, with annuals self-seeding. Tall stuff at the back, short stuff at the front. You grow your favorites, no matter how humble. You could even add some vegetables and herbs. Once it's established, your biggest job would be deadheading. Paths are simple--just pounded earth or gravel.

Some plants that might be in a cottage garden: Canterbury bells, poppies, foxglove, columbine, delphinium, sweet william, daisies, perennial geraniums, salvias, iris, peonies, lilies, with edging of lavender, catmint, or lamb's ears...I'm a big fan of letting some plants seed themselves around. If they come up where I don't want them, I go through in spring and pull up the starts. Poppies, larkspur, nigella and clarkia all work well. This would be good for Tanya's zone 4 garden. Also penstemons are great plants for cold dry places. Think what grows wild in your area then look up natives or cultivars. They should do well.

Deb

[RoseMary]

Thanks for the advise, Deb. Rarely do rattlesnakes come up in our yard, but copperheads:eek: are a problem. I am terrified of them. We have a dog who usually alerts us, so that helps. I think I will have to do a 'modified' version of one, with lots of paths and cleared areas. I know it won't look as nice, but then neither will a snake bite on my leg or hand! We have water moccassins (sp?) too. They are really bad to move in and just hang around, but their scent is so strong, you can usually tell that they are around close by.

I do have a couple of English Gardening books and like them better than the American ones that I have. I especially like some of the British herb books I have.

[Chyna]

My faves are blue flax, they grow wild all over the place around here and self sow wonderfully. Look so delicate but they are tough plants/weeds. There does seem to be some confusion on what blue flax is so I'd go by description. They have blue 5-6 petals, the stems are fern like with tiny skinny leaves, you can't pick them because the petals blow right off so you get blue petals all over the place. The stems all grow from the ground and it gets bushy. Many pull them up because of their habit of spreading everywhere but aren't hard to kill off. The seed pods are little round balls.

Ive got mine over by my rose bushes and some lavender I want to bush up (not going well). I did have to break down and pull some up last year since they were threatening to take over the bed and perhaps I'll transplant some to the deadland I call a boulevard. That and some cosmos should just be excellent out there. The flax doesn't require alot of water so good for xeroscape gardening. My front yard is english cottage or at least that is the look I'm going for. Don't forget the hollyhocks!!! In case you don't know it, hollyhocks don't flower until the second year. My neighbor had been trying to grow them at her house forever and would get disgusted with them and pull them up only to find out later on that they flower the second year. OOPS:o

[RoseMary]

I think the hollyhocks would be very pretty in a cottage garden. After the second year when they bloom, do they reseed themselves or do you have to plant again? The blue flax sounds good--sort of like a filler in places that are a little sparse. Thanks.

BTW--does anyone have garlic planted by their rose bushes? I read on a forum about black spot that gardeners in England plant them at the base of their rose bushes to keep from getting black spot. Supposedly, the woman on the forum (American) had tried it and it worked. I would like to find a way to not use poison, since they have to be sprayed so often.

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

Garlic is a new one to me-- but I would be interested in the answer on that one-- you're so right about how often the roses have to be sprayed to prevent blackspot. And once the blackspot happens, you pretty much have to ride it out until the new leaves grow in. Miss spraying time and suddenly the leaves all fall off and the whole plant looks like it needs Rogaine.

I have both foxglove and columbine which turn out really nice during the year and with zero help from me. And they reseed themselves nicely.

Sweet William is also quite nice-- spreads well, flowers are tiny rosey pink on tallish stalks.

[Chyna]

The hollyhocks do indeed reseed themselves. I think they also will come back a third year too. This part I'm not so sure of but I do see my hollyhock plants from last year look like they're greening up so keeping my fingers crossed. Again I don't know for sure but I think you can only transplant the first year so making sure you got the seeds out is important.:confused:

I like cosmos. The pretty flowers, are pickable for bouquets and they do volunteer (hardily!!!) so they too are good for covering a large area.

[RoseMary]

I think that I will try the garlic around my roses. It's not the most attractive plant, but it might keep the bugs away even if it doesn't help the blackspot. I have tons of the stuff growing around here--my dad can't seem to get enough of it. He mixes it in all sorts of concoctions that he takes for 'medicine'. Believe me, some of his mixes have a very interesting scent to them.

I also read that you can put sulphur powder on the roses for blackspot--it said to stand upwind of the bush and let the powder blow in it to cover it well. I'm thinking that would give them sort of a yellow tint, though--and in reality, I think sulphur smells worse than garlic! Oh well, you can read about anything on the internet, can't you?

[Memmey]

I'm moving my bananas and my son was pulling the trunks to the burn pile and found a copper head snake...:eek: :eek: :eek: . Emil the nature boy didn't kill it he took off a let it go...again:eek: :eek: :eek: . Now I'm spending the whole spring/summer looking for the snakes return.
There was a show years and years ago about gardening, they even interveiwed Tasha Tudor and they said plant curley parsley under your rose bushes to hide the branches and it makes it have the English cottage style. The English plant their roses among the border and they have a wet climate how do they battle black spot? We should check an English gardening book and see what they do.

[RoseMary]

I hadn't considered what a wet climate that they must be gardening in, Memmey. THey should be experts on blackspot:) . Probably there are some English forums out there since they grow such fabulous roses.

Did you see my post about the garlic? That was supposed to be from a British rose grower, but I haven't figured out how the garlic would help the blackspot, but I guess it's worth a try. I'll try some of the curly parsley at the bases, too. It will look nice growing there.

Can't believe your son let that snake go:eek: . Oh, they give me the heebeejeebies!!!

[dedavis]

Snakes are sensitive to vibration. If I'm moving through snakey places, I stomp my feet, whack the ground with a stick, or throw a rock ahead of me. Rattlesnakes will let you know they're there, or just crawl away. I don't mind little snakes like garter snakes or rubber boas, but those rattlesnakes make something go off in the primitive part of my brain.

Do your homework when you choose roses--some are more disease-resistant. I get a catalog from Gardens Alive!, and they have all kinds of products, including a natural antifungal. Check them out at http://www.GardensAlive.com.

[RoseMary]

I suppose the vibration our snakes hear are my footsteps pounding the ground as I run away. The rattlesnakes don't hang around but the copperheads usually stand their ground and the cottonmouths--a really nasty snake-- have been know to attack people for invading their territory.

I have had the most success with shrub roses, which aren't as pretty, but are far more disease resistant. I have a Don Juan that is so pretty, but the blackspot has really attacked it the last couple of years. Thanks for the link, Deb.