Design and Create Your own Cottage Garden

You've read about the roots of cottage gardening and seen some, if not all, of our cottage garden photographs.

Wonderful!

We believe you'll be very happy with the result of your labour if you follow the step-by-step approach outlined below in our layout plan.

Design and Layout Plan

Light, the key factor: Before you decide what you want, it's advisable to take into account what and where nature makes it possible for you to create your dream garden. We started by learning why the availability and use of natural (sun)light in garden design is the single most important factor in all successful gardens and proceeded to the first step in our garden design plan:
1. Sketch a light and shade plan for your cottage garden. We've included examples of our own drawings to help you get started and once you've completed your drawing, you'll know the sunny, lightly shaded, half shade and deep shade light zones in your garden.
Design objectives: Now comes the fun part - and a test of your ability to compromise. Get everyone in your home to fill in a piece of paper with their own most important features in the "new garden wish list". You'll find advice on how to decide realistic desires in terms of the space and light available and then you can progress to:
1. Design principles: A basic explanation of design principles as we applied them to the creation of our cottage garden. With an explanation of our three-step approach to cottage garden design;
2. Sketch a layout plan for your cottage garden. On completion of your drawing, you'll have filled in the paths, special features e.g. pond, seating area(s), etc., and, most important, where the plants you want to use are going to be planted. We've included drawing examples based on our garden for each step along the way.

After you have completed the design phase, it's time for hard labour - you are now ready to build your own cottage garden.

Yes, we know, it's tiresome but really necessary. You build, we advise - seems a fair working arrangement to us!