There is a fascination in America with the English cottage garden. As I was reading about the history of English cottage gardens, I discovered the garden might be more a myth than a reality. E. Hobsbawn and T. Ranger in…
This cottage-style garden pathway shows plants leaning over toward the walkway, which Hensel describes as an important characteristic of the English cottage garden. Americans love the English cottage garden. Margaret Hensel in her book English Cottage Gardening says, “Over the years I…
Last year I did a Master Plan for a home landscape in Maine. The owner, after seeing my drawing, said, “Oh, it has an English cottage garden feeling about it.” Just what is the English cottage garden? American landscape designer Margaret…
At the turn of the nineteenth century the Shakers in America pioneered the paper seed packet as a way to sell their seeds. It worked. To this day we still buy seeds in colorful packets. The nineteenth century seed companies,…
[ left: Horace Walpole (1717-1797) English art historian, writer, and gardenist.] You love the English garden style, but did you know it took time to achieve that look. The new naturalistic English garden design of the eighteenth century style evolved…