Cottage Gardens

Cottage gardens never go out of style, and the rise of homesteading and “cottagecore” is leading to a resurgence of this charming and practical style.

Beloved for their informality, cottage gardens champion organic and unstructured spaces overflowing with textures and colors while welcoming self-sown plants and bulbs popping up and spreading on their own. Appearing casual, everything is done with great intent.

From humble origins in medieval England and Colonial America, this style arose as a practical approach—ornamentals and edibles intermingling and supporting each other—before being elevated by great garden designers Gertrude Jekyll, William Robinson, Vita Sackville-West, Margery Fish, and Rosemary Verey. Today, concerns about food traceability, reducing waste and chemical use, and supporting pollinators and wildlife have rekindled interest in cottage gardening.

Taking a 360-degree view, this book covers plant combinations, paths and walls, water features and extending the season, as well as promoting traditional, organic practices such as composting, rain harvesting, and succession planting.Kathryn Bradley-Hole is the author of Rizzoli’s acclaimed English Gardens and The Naturally Beautiful Garden as well as the bestsellers Gardeners’ World: The Garden Lovers’ Guide to Britain (BBC Publishing) and Lost Gardens of England: From the Archives of Country Life (Aurum). A lifelong gardener, for eighteen years she was the garden editor of the esteemed weekly magazine Country Life as well as the author of a regular column, Nature Notes. She enjoys growing food and herbs for the kitchen and creating flower-rich environments that assist wildlife.
Instagram: @kathrynbradleyhole