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Creating a Cottage Garden
in North America
by Stephen Westcott-Gratton
For gardeners who love the riot of shapes, colors, and textures to be found in the cottage garden, Stephen
Westcott-Gratton’s Creating a Cottage Garden in North America
offers a rich mix of history, practical advice for starting one, design tips, and plant profiles—especially of those native to our continent. Although this cozy style of garden originated in England among peasants who needed pretty practically—it fed pigs and other livestock and it also satisfied the need for the beauty of flowers—it has much to offer the modern American gardener.
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For instance, traditional English cottage gardens had about the same amount of garden space as do modern homes in many urban
centers. Applying the wisdom of a garden style in which plants—whether flowers, herbs, fruits, or vegetables—are packed densely together makes perfect sense for the gardener with only a postage-stamp yard. Not only
will the happily commingled plants give great visual treats, such as an occasional tomato or green pea struggling up through the clematis, but their profusion will usually out compete weeds.
Creating a Cottage Garden in North America is not only a definitive, hands-on guide to this popular garden style, but it is also a lively read that reveals the romance and the reality of the cottage garden.
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- Garden Book Club Selection
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Did You Know?
Needless to say, there are lots of insouciant, low-maintenance perennials that will add interest and excitement to your cottage garden. Here are 20
suggestions to get you started ... more
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Excerpt
Sweet William
Dianthus barbatus
Sweet William seems to me to be a victim of the class system. Most Dianthus enthusiasts start
their excursion in to pinks and carnations with this delightful short-lived perennial, but they frequently relinquish it when they become sophisticated enough to sport Dianthus knappii
in their borders. Never mind, the horticultural nouveaux riches generally come back to them in the end, and in the meantime, it leaves more seed for the rest of us.
Sweet William is a cottage garden plant of old and, as is the case with so many of the plants
we treat as biennials, the best bloom is to be had from two-year-old plants. Occasionally, precocious seedlings started indoors will produce some flower the first seasons, and if they do, be
sure to deadhead them. After they flower the second season, it’s best to let the plants set seed and then toss them out. This approach sounds somewhat bloodthirsty, but it’s the best way to ensure superior flowering.
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Name: Sweet William Dianthus barbatus
Height: To 2’ (60 cm)
Exposure: Sun to part shade
Blooming period: Late spring, early summer
Soil: Ordinary garden soil
Companions:
Especially effective when planted around large perennials that will begin to bloom as the Sweet William fades
Special notes:
Old stock should be removed after two to three years, and replaced with new plants.
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Native to Eurasia and hardy to zone 3, Sweet Williams come in a variety of shades ranging from pure white to pink
and red combinations. Unlike the rest of the Dianthus genera, Sweet Williams hold many clusters of individual flowers per stem rather than just one, giving them the appearance of dwarf phlox. Best of
all, their markings are exquisite—they may have dark or light contrasting bands, or fringed petals, or both—the variations are endlessly elegant.
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Fulcrum Publishing – 16100 Table Mountain Parkway, Suite 300 – Golden, Colorado 80403
1.800.992.2908 – 303.277.1623 – fulcrum@fulcrum-books.com
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