Cottage Garden Delights
The Rosemoor Cottage Garden in May is pure delight with bright spring flowers in a kaleidoscope of colour in the borders, cushions of dainty alpines in the walls and pots of stunning tulips by the cottage.
For an impressive display, we plant up large terracotta pots with just the one variety of tulip in each. This year, we have chosen ‘Curly Sue’ (fringed, purple), ‘Elegant Lady’ (ivory, washed with pink), ‘Fancy Frills’ AGM (ivory and pink) and ‘Negrita’ (deep purple).
Foxgloves are a cottage garden staple and there are now many cultivars in various colours available. This year we have planted groups of Digitalis purpurea 'Sutton's Apricot' (creamy, yellowish-pink), D. purpurea ‘Pam’s Choice’ AGM and D. purpurea Excelsior Group (white, pink, cream or purple flowers). These will combine with pale to mid-purple scented flowers of Hesperis matronalis (dame’s violet) to give a glorious mass of harmonious colours.
The stone walls that divide the Cottage Garden from the Potager, will be covered in a mix of alpines including a miniature snap dragon Chaenorhinum origanifolium 'Blue Dream' and cultivars of Phlox subulata, and Helianthemum (rock rose). Centranthus ruber (red valerian) is common in our West Country walls and is a welcome addition here.
Most Cottage Garden style plants are by their nature good for bees, butterflies, moths and hoverflies. Many have simple flowers, making the pollen and nectar easily accessible including Doronicum, Veronica, Geranium, Rudbeckia and Campanula. Plant them in groups so that the insects can easily detect the colour and scent. Don’t forget moths; evening primrose, tobacco plant, honeysuckle and sweet rocket are all good night-time nectar providers. If you can attract night flying moths, then you might attract bats, especially if you can put up some bat boxes. Look for the RHS Plants for Pollinators logo when choosing what to grow. These insects are vital to gardeners but they are in serious decline and need all the help we can give.
June is a good time to sow Cottage Garden biennials including Digitalis, Dianthus, Erysimum and Lunaria. If you have the space, you can sow in the ground, or if you prefer, sow into seed trays. To sow into the ground, prepare the soil by raking to a fine crumb-like texture (tilth). Scratch out a straight shallow trench (drill); water this before and after sowing your seeds. As the seeds germinate, water regularly to keep the soil moist. When large enough, thin the seedlings out to the spacing recommended on the packet.
If you prefer to sow in trays or modules (for less root disturbance), use peat free seed and potting compost. When the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into individual pots. Be sure to hold them by the leaves to avoid crushing the stems. You can keep them in a pot until the early autumn and plant out where they are to flower. Alternatively, overwinter them in a cool greenhouse or cold frame and plant out in spring. Growing your own plants from seed (especially if you collect your own) has the advantage that you can have a large selection of plants at a relatively low cost to achieve the burgeoning cottage garden look.
Many people dream of a garden full of flowers and scent but success tends to just ‘happen’, without much planning, through filling in gaps with whatever suitable plants are to hand and allowing them to self-seed where they are naturally happiest.
Jobs for May and June
- During May, watch out for late frosts and protect susceptible plants. Tender new growth and early blossom are particularly vulnerable. Cover plants with a double layer of horticultural fleece or other suitable protection. Pots can be moved into a frost free greenhouse, shed or garage for the night.
- Lift and divide overcrowded clumps of daffodils and other spring-flowering bulbs.
- Earth up potatoes which will protect early shoots from frost damage and ensure the developing potatoes are not exposed to light which turns them green.
- Plant out summer bedding when all danger of frost has passed in your area. Plants can be grown from seed (early spring), bought as plug plants or as pot-grown specimens.
- Prune shrubs when they have finished flowering to encourage strong, healthy shoots and improve flowering.
- Be water-wise, especially in drought-affected areas. Put as many water butts as you can in the garden.
By Sheila Dearing, Garden Technical Service Officer