The Concentric garden in the spring of 2008

Duration : 3 min 16 sec

Read the rest of this entry

Technorati Tags: garden

Cottage gardens are traditionally thought of as English gardens, lushly planted with colorful jumbles of flowers and shrubs, and grown in areas with mild winters and cool summers. Unfortunately, most places in the U.S. outside of the Pacific Northwest do not have the proper climate for an English garden.

Luckily, American cottage gardens are just as beautiful and better adapted to our climate. Still based on the lovely informal array of flowers and shrubs, they are perfectly suited to most informal suburban homes or country lots without the need for a huge English manor garden space that few of us have.

American cottage gardening encompasses using more drought tolerant and native plants, plants that are hardier for cold winter climates, and plants that tolerate and even thrive on the sunshine. The style tends to look natural and free flowing without any plan or design, however does indeed usually have a backbone plan to bring out the best in plant color combinations and textures that compliment each other. That being said, cottage gardens are also places where self seeded plants may be allowed to pop up as they will, and the garden is always a surprise from one season to the next! Flowers, shrubs, vegetables and herbs may share the same beds, and roses abound! Vines soften fences and walls, and furniture and decor is simple and comfortable.

Some easy to grow, drought and heat resistant plants perfect for the American cottage garden include yarrow, valerian, Russian sage, coneflower, coreopsis, scabiosa, joe pye weed, daffodils, sunflower, butterfly bush and roses. Many herbs also love heat. Sage, thyme, purple basil, golden oregano and lavender all thrive in my high desert garden. Annuals can be seeded directly in the garden and many self sow for next year as well. Good cottage gardens choices include cosmos, annual sunflower, cleome, alyssum and poppies.

Cottage gardens are magical places, full of charm, whimsy and surprises, and a perfect place to let your creativity in the garden shine and grow. Don’t forget to add a meandering path, a rustic or painted arbor, and a picket fence here or there.

My own garden here at The Garden Glove is a cottage garden style, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. See photos and read articles on cottage style gardens at TheGardenGlove.com/cottage_garden.html.

If you’re looking for a laid back style, beautiful easy care flowers, and a charming feel for your home and garden, cottage style is for you.

Kathy Wilson
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/how-to-grow-a-cottage-garden-135996.html

Tips for good garden design and landscaping

Good creative skills are essential for the specialised fields of garden design and landscaping. Consequently, it is important to have a comprehensive understanding of the industry and be able to apply acquired skills in a theoretical and practical manner. Lifestyle Learning Direct, one of the Gold Coast’s premier online learning and correspondence course providers, suggests that in order to be a good garden designer or landscaper you need to be able to:

Evaluate a design project, have a clear understanding of a designer’s role, and be able to conduct a meeting with a client.

Be knowledgeable about the historical influences on modern garden design.

Be able to identify the various ‘hard’ components of landscaping and design, such as garden structures and walls, fences and gates.

Have a good general knowledge about soils and plants, and other landscaping products such as compost, gravel, sleepers, pavers, cement, sand, rock and slate, and so on.

Be familiar with the pricing structure of various landscaping supplies.

Have had practical experience in several areas of landscape design and its allied industries, such as nurseries and landscaping supply yards.

Have an awareness of different styles of gardens, as well as lighting and water features and the various types of surfacing materials available for use in garden design.

Be knowledgeable about earthworks involved in landscaping and design.

Have a broad knowledge on the basics of starting a business, business plans, market analysis and ongoing management.

How can you become a better Garden Designer and Landscaper?

To gain professional garden design and landscaping proficiency, it is best to undertake a specialised course that teaches you the essential skills. Lifestyle Learning Direct. is a leader in the provision of writing distance education courses that aim to give students a broad understanding of the industry competency regarding both the theoretical and practical application of this knowledge.

Apart from understanding the application of good garden design ideas and landscaping elements and principles, you need to be conversant with other necessary components such as earthworks, marking out and job costing, as well as basic drawing skills and client/designer communication. As a result, you should develop the ability to apply this knowledge in a broad variety of situations, as well as recognise and correct all manner of design errors.

If you dream of being your own boss, as well as the theory of garden design and landscaping you also need to know the practical aspects of how to set up in business.

For more information in relation to fashion design and dressmaking, please contact Lifestyle Learning Direct.

Robyn Lee Burrows
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/lifestyle-learning-directs-garden-design-and-landscaping-tips-and-tricks-95459.html