A traditional cottage garden breaks all the rules of garden design in that it creates the illusion that there isn't any design; flowers are planted together in such a haphazard way that they look like they naturally wild and unattended. This is a romantic and sentimental notion of what a traditional country cottage garden should be, although the origin of cottage gardens may have been of a more practical purpose.
The Origin of Cottage Gardens
There is some debate over the origin of English country cottage gardens, although they were not exclusive to England; there was some form of country 'cottage gardens' throughout Europe. Originally, country cottage gardens may have been created as a local source of fruit and vegetables; herbs were also prevalent in cottage gardens.
Cottage gardens were just that – the garden of a country cottage, created for necessity and not for ornamental purposes; however, eventually large estate houses had 'cottage gardens' too.
Cottage gardens were just that – the garden of a country cottage, created for necessity and not for ornamental purposes; however, eventually large estate houses had 'cottage gardens' too.
Today, the term cottage garden is used to describe any informal garden design of sprawling plants and may not necessarily contain traditional English cottage garden plants; indeed, the garden of the artist Monet, at Giverny in France, has been described as cottage garden style by some, due to its sprawling nature, although it is made up of water gardens, various plants and colors, not true to original cottage gardens.
