Imagine a charming small home in the middle of a field full with fragrant herbs, climbing vines, and vibrant flowers. English cottage gardens are charming because they have a wild yet hospitable vibe, as if nature itself chose to create a work of art. Have you ever wondered, though, how these lovely gardens got their start?
What is an English cottage garden?
Before exploring the past, let’s check out what makes a cottage garden very special. Cottage gardens are unstructured and free-flowing gardens. If you compare this garden with formal gardens, in a formal garden you can see neat and tidy rows and symmetrical design. You can get a variety of fruit trees, vegetables, flowers, and herbs in the garden in a harmonious manner.
In the Middle Ages, like in the 14th and 15th centuries, The history of English cottage gardens starts. The majority of people in England at the time were farmers and lived in small villages. They lived in modest cottages, and they grew food and plants on the nearby acreage.
Typically The primary goal of early cottage gardens was growing vegetables and fruits for food purpose. Families produced herbs for cooking and medicine, as well as vegetables including beans, onions, and cabbages. As we all know flowers can’t be categorized into eatables , cottage gardens don’t have flowers. Over time people started adding flowers for maintaining beauty and aesthetics.
Gardening became a status symbol during the 16th century. The rich and wealthy families started designing intricate gardens with exotic plants, fountains, and geometric patterns. However, because most people couldn’t afford such niceties, cottage gardens continued to be straightforward and functional.
The typical formal garden symbols, like borders made with flowers and hedges, became a part of cottage gardens. Because therapeutic qualities and culinary uses, herbs like sage, thyme, and rosemary are now integral parts of cottage gardens.
In the 18th century, England’s Industrial Revolution led to a shift towards beauty, with cottage gardens focusing on easy-to-grow flowers like hollyhocks, delphiniums, and daisies. This romanticized rural life and made cottage gardens symbols of a simpler, happier time.
The Victorian era, also known as the golden age of English cottage gardens, saw gardening become a popular hobby for all classes. Influenced by garden writers like William Robinson and Gertrude Jekyll, Victorian gardens featured vibrant colors and dense plantings, with women taking pride in creating beautiful gardens.
The cottage garden style, despite facing modern landscaping trends, adapted to new tastes and lifestyles. During World Wars, it played a crucial role in food production, and in recent decades, there’s a renewed interest in creating eco-friendly spaces.
Features of English cottage garden
An English cottage garden features dense plantings of flowers, herbs, and vegetables, informal design with no strict plan, climbing plants like roses and ivy, pathways and borders with low-growing plants, vibrant colors and textures, and a renewed interest in eco-friendly spaces due to the desire to reconnect with nature.
To conclude …Cottage gardens are a celebration of nature, history, and human ingenuity, serving as a reminder to slow down, enjoy small things, and see beauty in flaws. They feature climbing plants like roses, ivy, and clematis, pathways and borders, vibrant colors and textures, and a renewed interest in eco-friendly spaces as people reconnect with nature.