The Modern Cottage Garden
A Fresh Approach to a Classic Style
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- £9.49
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- £9.49
Publisher Description
“An inspirational book, with encouraging words and down-to-earth advice for achieving a year-round beautiful garden.” —Michael Marriott, chief rosarian at David Austin Roses
In this practical and inspirational guide, Greg Loades presents a new style of planting: a fusion between classic cottage style and the new perennial movement. Using real gardens as examples, The Modern Cottage Garden teaches gardeners how to combine the best of both styles—big, colorful blooms and striking grasses and native plants—into one beautiful space that requires little maintenance and has a long season of interest. Fresh planting ideas for containers, small gardens, and diverse climates present an exciting style that can shine anywhere.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Loades, editor of The Alpine Gardener, inspires with this delightful exploration of the process of creating a "modern cottage garden." After explaining how he defines this term, as a combination of the traditional English cottage garden and the more naturalistic "New Perennial Movement," Loades dispenses extensive instructions on assembling attractive arrays of plants for backyards as well as smaller spaces, such as a "selection of mixed containers" on a patio. He then goes through the seasons, telling readers what to expect at every stage, such as that the "cottage garden's star performers... have a habit of peaking in early summer." He wraps up with a list of 50 essential plants (including dainty cyclamen coum and the salvia Hot Lips, which "starts flowering in summer and continues through until the first frost"). Gorgeous, full-page color photos of gardens designed using Loades's approach will propel readers to the nearest plant nursery. Wry aphorisms ("It's not just death and taxes that are inevitable. A lot of frustrated gardeners would add slugs to this saying too") charmingly punctuate the how-to. Herbophiles will find it impossible not to get drawn into Loades's blossoming world.