Cottage Gardens | Gardening Made Easy

Lovely, Easy, Larkspur...

The Larkspur is an easy and delightful plant for many landscapers and gardeners, adding old-fashioned charm to any bed or border. Bold and attractive Larkspur is a popular, old fashioned favourite. These hardy annuals grow light, feathery flowers atop tall spikes. Use larkspur in cottage gardens, or butterfly gardens. Larkspur also makes an excellent cutting flower so landscapers can use it in cut flower gardens. Larkspur...

At home with a Cottage Garden...

A cottage garden is not an excuse for a mess. Structure is still important and a cottage garden needs some backbone to hold it together just as much as any other garden. Cottage gardens embrace charm and character, but they rely on the same basic principles as any other style of garden. Start by creating a basic shape of hard landscaping, then add ‘core’ trees, shrubs and perennials that give the garden its...

Alluring Agapanthus...

Easy-to-grow Agapanthus produce glorious clusters of lily-like blooms that last throughout the summer. The six or so species that comprise the genus Agapanthus (African Lily) are found growing wild along the coastal belt and inland mountainous regions of southern Africa. These clump forming perennials have been collected from their natural habitats and developed into many spectacular garden hybrids that adorn landscapes...

Popular and rewarding Foxgloves...

The Foxglove is a wonderful, statuesque plant; well suited to cottage gardens. The Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea is a large, showy plant — a striking addition to any shade garden. They look best grouped toward the back of a bed, where their blossoms will brighten an otherwise gloomy spot. Flowers in shades of white, yellow, pink, rose, lavender and purple grow on spikes that vary in height depending on the variety. The...

Hollyhocks: Beautiful and easy to grow...

Hollyhocks are easy to grow plants that are old favourites and are getting new attention as gardening trends evolve. Hollyhocks are the quintessential cottage garden flower. The resurgence in Hollyhock popularity comes from several factors. Renewed interest in cottage gardens, a desire for drought and heat tolerance in garden flowers and the introduction of many new varieties are all helping fuel their new popularity. The...

Delphiniums — Majestic and Colourful...

Another name for Delphinium is ‘Larkspur’. These beautiful blooms add a touch of grace to any garden and make a wonderful bouquet of cut flowers that will last about seven days in a vase. The modern delphinium is one of the most spectacular and popular of garden flowers. There are a wide ranges of colours, several flower forms, and varieties of different heights. You can never have too many delphiniums. They...

Reliable, colourful and easy Anemone...

In the flower bed Anemone coronaria will produce flowers over a period of several months. It is also an excellent subject for container gardening. Anemones have rich bright colours that are great for mass colour in garden beds in sunny positions. Anemones also make great cut flowers and produce successions of blooms over a long period. The Anemone family is a large one (over 120 species), but it is Anemone coronaria,...

Brilliantly coloured Sweet William...

Perhaps the best known of the Dianthus clan is Sweet William which bears its brilliantly coloured blooms in large clusters at the top of stout stems. Sweet William is a traditional cottage plant famous for its late spring and early summer colour and sweet clove-like perfume. Dense clusters of flowers are produced on sturdy self supporting well branched stems in a superb mix of complimentary colours. Sweet William...

Fragrant, Colourful and Easy Sweet Peas...

Sweet peas are an easy annual from seed because you can direct seed them into the garden. The Sweet Pea (Lathyrus odoratus) is one of the most attractive, highly scented and prolific of all the annuals. The flowers vary in colour — red, blue, lavender and pink and white. Depending on the cultivar, they can be solid colours, bicolours or streaked. Sweet peas will provide you with masses of cut flowers for at least...

Easy, Charming Columbines...

Columbines (Aquilegia x hybrida) are sometimes known as Granny’s Bonnets. Their charming flowers, and attractive foliage, are delightful. The popular hybrids originate from species originating in both North America and Europe. Columbines are perennial in cold climates, but are best treated as annuals in temperate climates. The Columbine is an easy plant to grow because it adapts itself to a wide variety of conditions. Columbines...

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About This Site

Gardening really is fun (even though it requires a certain amount of work). To have a wonderful, colourful show garden you don't have to be a garden specialist or know all the Latin names for plants. Here we aim to provide easy to understand guidelines, tips and ideas for gardeners living in the southern hemisphere and other temperate regions. The site is filled with useful monthly gardening diaries, events news, plant profiles, special sections on trees, shrubs, herbs, succulents, vegetables, indigenous flowers and plants and more. We will constantly be adding more content, so come back often and explore the many categories and pages — remember its all about fun!

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