Create Your Ideal Garden with an Abundance of Flowers, Cottage Gardens and Container Gardens

CREATING YOUR IDEAL GARDEN (2)

An Abundance of Flowers

The traditional cottage garden, its borders packed with flowering and fruiting plants in glorious profusion, is an idyll that many of us aspire to. But before you get carried away with the idea, remember that the reality behind this apparently effortless style is a lot of hard work.

If you do decide you are willing and able to put in the necessary hours, it will still take a while to build up the range of plants and achieve a suitably informal style, but the wait will be well worth it. Not that you can then put your feet up – something will always need staking, deadheading, dividing, or cutting back.

If you like the idea but are short of time, you could always create a single cottage-style border and combine it with other areas that are easier to maintain. Whatever the scale of your planting, the emphasis should be on herbaceous perennials and shrubs. There are plenty of varieties to choose from according to your taste and the space available, but do try to include at least one clump each of the real cottage classics: old roses, irises, columbines, peonies, daisies, and hollyhocks.

Other quintessential cottage garden features include climber-laden arches and pergolas – preferably planted with scented roses – and a separate area devoted to fruit and vegetables. Well-worn brick paths, pretty wooden gates, and countless other rustic features can all add to the effect.

Finding Space for Plants

Think of a garden and you'll probably picture a large expanse of lawn, surrounded with beds, borders, and trees Yet the reality for some of us is a paved terrace or concrete backyard without so much as an inch of soil in sight. Fortunately, a lack of conventional growing space needn't handicap the would-be gardener in the slightest. It is perfectly possible to turn even the bleakest of spaces into a colorful haven packed with a variety of ornamental and edible plants for year-round interest.

For the best results, it is important to make full use not only of the available horizontal space, but of all the vertical areas, too. Unsightly walls, fences, and views can quickly be hidden by attractive –and sometimes even productive – climbers, and your overall garden design will be immeasurably improved by this step into the third dimension. You may be able to lift small areas of paving around the perimeter to make more permanent beds for these climbers. However, if this is not possible, many will do perfectly well in large containers filled with good-quality soil mix.

Continue the vertical planting theme with hanging baskets, mangers, and window boxes on house and perimeter walls. Though these containers are usually planted with summer bloomers, there are plenty of foliage plants that will thrive in them too, and if you plan the planting carefully it is possible to have color in every season.

More adventurous projects could include creating a shady arbor by training climbers over a wire frame, or wooden slats spanning the courtyard. A herb garden is easily achievable, since many herbs thrive in the free-draining conditions of a container, but have you considered creating a vegetable plot as well? A surprising range of vegetables can be grown in containers or grow bags, and in the sheltered conditions of a backyard you should be able to get excellent crops.

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