Welcome to The Cottage Garden Society

If you are interested in plants, or enjoy exchanging gardening ideas and experiences with fellow gardeners, why not join The Cottage Garden Society?

You don't have to live in a cottage, or even in the country.  Cottage gardens can be created in the small plots of modern houses or in the narrow gardens of older terraces.  The traditional, informal style lends itself to any situation, rural or urban, large or small.

What is a Cottage Garden?

Originally, the purpose of the cottage garden was to provide food.  It contained livestock, herbs, fruits and vegetables.  Flowers were an optional extra and tended to be ones that had some practical value, such as seasoning food or repelling bugs.  The cottager's small plot did not allow for any wasted space, so the garden was abundantly packed, but well tended.

The cottage garden later moved away from being an utilitarian space and became an area to be enjoyed.  These days, food-crops and chicken-keeping are returning and environmental concerns are being incorporated by the conscientious cottage gardener.

Although there are no hard and fast rules as to what should be grown, the hallmarks of this style are informality, abundance and diversity.  That means lots of colour, scent, bees, birds and butterflies, not to mention fruit, herbs, vegetables, frogs and hedgehogs!