Cottage!

Here is a link that might be useful: Cottage Gardening

Me, too! Don't you love that board? That is one of my favorites on the Garden side, and such a nice group, too. I love that "Front Yards" thread!

I missed that one!

I'm gonna go see right now!!!!!

I have a huge backyard which most of you would love to have., I don't do any gardening except for a few tomato plants on the patio. My big concern is keeping it mowed.

The stump is gone now and some plants are using that space. That was a huge pine tree which was sheared off when we had our big ice storm in 2000. Fortunately it didn't fall on the house.

Here is a link that might be useful:

WOW, THAT IS SOME SPACE! For "Our own dear little Garden" (this is what my daughters 4+1/2year old calls the place) I use a mix of styles. Some formal elements, Id like to try for a few asian elements in some areas, and lots of cottage. Pacific Northwest style is sort of a blend of tradidional /formal/cottage/natural/asian/ all blended in, like something nice from a salad bar. As for the Cottage garden site, this has to be the most gentle pleasant friendly group on earth. I love how everyone suports every one else. there was another forum that I was interested in, but there were a couple members who were so snapity that I got discouraged and quit posting. I am real excited about this one.

I have a cottage garden in the front yard. It's "Canadian Style"... you see similar gardens on a much smaller scale in downtown Toronto. Lots of italian and greek influence in my garden...
We also purchased the small home next to ours (so that someone wouldn't put a monster home smack next to us!!) I have a potager started there.
I prefer informal gardens with some "bones". A little structure, a lot of love.

GGG

Waves of bulb color in the spring followed by select perrenials in early summer and a mess of echinacia and rudbeckia in late fall.

Yikes! I never uploaded the rest of 2005. Give me the weekend and I'll do some more.

Here is a link that might be useful: Open the albums

Another cottage gardener here. We have 5 acres but we have left most of it in it's native state. It is very hilly and very dry so it would be almost physically and financially impossible to garden on most of it. We probably garden on less than an half acre, including the house area. But that's ok with me as I have so many other interests.

I have a potager for vegies, berries and various herbs and flowers. And we're redoing most of the fenced area out back in more drought tolerant and native plantings. I'm aiming for less work and more leisure. : )

Diana

We are still working in the yard. I LOVE roses and so, I have about 150 roses planted. My husband David put in 6 rose beds for me and have them planted in mostly antique roses. It is soooo pretty now and when you walk out my front door, all you smell is old rose smell. I am totally in love with my front rose bed. I think my members page still has the link that shows my new house, me, David and all my roses. Some of the beds are newly planted. I hope the link still works.

Deb

Here's the link I mentioned above.

http://d.nicewonder.home.mchsi.com/

I hope it works!

Deb

Deb, it's gorgeous!! I LOVE that "blue" (purple) rose.

GGG

Thanks GGG!!!

The name of the rose is Midnight Blue, it is a Floribunda and smells like cloves. It will be so purple, it is the color of a grape drink or juice!

Deb

I live in a cottage; therefore, I have a cottage garden. Herb garden next to the back door, mixed borders around the perimeter of the back yard, potager-style kitchen garden (veggies mixed with flowers)in the center of the back yard, and shade garden in the front yard. All very informal and usually weedy.

my style is 1920's/cottage/winter interest/japanese/free plants style

Hi - mine is cottage too. I want a low maintenance garden and it is very dry where I live, so I have lots of lavender and sage, geraniums, wallflowers, a few roses (one enormous peace rose) and fruit trees - plum, apricot, cherry, lime, with plans for oranges and lemons. I love brugmansia so I have a few of those too. The big problem with my garden is that it is there is no shade - so I need things that need little water and can tolerate FULL sun.

I also have cottage style gardens, with some tropicals added too since we live here in s.e. FL and I cannot grow a lot of what grows in typcial cottage gardens. I love the loose, happy feel of cottage gardens. As always, my gardens are a work in progress. I also love the old garden roses and have several of them.

FlowerLady

I like Momcat's description! Mine is eclectic...I have a hot color big leaf corner with Canna, Phormium, Thalia, Elephant Ears, Bamboo, Hibiscus etc. Plus many containers ranging from dwarf Equisetum (horsetail) to lovely Japanese Maples.

I'm attracted to foliage first but growing a few strange-looking flowers like Seseli gummeferum
'Moon Carrot' and Eryngium 'Miss Willmott's Ghost'. Since everything is in containers I can rearrange to my heart's content...I love that! josh

Even way before we moved here to TN where I have a lake out my front door, I've always dreamed of having a tropical, "Margaritaville" kind of garden, so after I got my rose garden planted (my biggest passion) I started with the tropical look (thanks to the tropicalesque forum). It's a little weird because most of the trees on our place are tall long needle pines, but up by the cabin I've planted my burgundy cannas, elephant ears, etc, etc, (you get the picture)intersperced with the pink flamingos! It's been so much fun and I just keep adding to it.

I also love cottage style, and I intend to have my own cottage garden by the end of the summer, and my interior, hopefully will be more "cottage esque" in the near future!

ps: that form is excellent, I love it, its my favorite!

Overgrown and wild. I have 2 acres in my yard, and part is like a meadow with wildflowers. I have a lot of antique roses. I like them because not only are they easy to care for but they make big, over grown shrubs. The rest of our land is woods and pasture. Have a mud bottomed pond near the front of the house...it needs to be dug out, silted in. It has some large koi in it, and I am going to find a home for them, and just plant lilies on it and a few goldfish in it.

I'd have to call my style "cottage under control" I try to keep some formality (squared off beds/clearly defined grass areas to make mowing easier) but allow the flower beds then to grow as they will. To be honest, my goal is to be lazy. While I enjoy gardening, I don't want it to get out of control when I am too busy to keep it in check. I do most of my gardening early spring and fall and only water in summer when necessary. I found a book that I loved that helped alot. The Lazy Gardener by Mara Grey.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Cottage garden style. Pockets of plants anywhere I can find room.

"We have 5 acres but we have left most of it in it's native state. It is very hilly and very dry so it would be almost physically and financially impossible to garden on most of it. We probably garden on less than an half acre, including the house area."

I had to chuckle when I read the above...we have 7 acres and there's nary a flat area in sight! Actually, the only flat area is what we call the 'lower 40'. It's at the bottom of our property, away from the house, and not very convenient. We garden in the style we refer to as 'controlled chaos'. We have tamed the perimeter of the house (somewhat) and try to put the blinders on to the rest. I have perennials and herbs under the kitchen window in the front of the house. Off the back we have our deck and the encroaching woods....I like the view in the front better ;o)

Here is a link that might be useful: