At the beginning of my journey I was clueless to the different styles of gardening and how they were identified.

Cottage Gardens, Moon Gardens, Formal Gardens, And More!

All of it was a foreign language to me. It wasn't until someone on Instagram referred to my space as a “Cottage Garden”, that I set out to understand what defines each style of gardening.

After a few books, documentaries and a lot of research later, I finally realized that I had the makings of a Cottage Garden right in my backyard!

In the early 14th century, cottage gardens were known to be a functional space in the front of your home to provide necessary resources. Groups of densely planted vegetables, herbs, and more would provide both culinary and medicinal resources for working families.

At the time, there was little to no consideration given to flowers in the space, but they were occasionally found weaving and twisting their way up arbors and building.

As time went on, the layering of flowers began to play a larger role in the design. Today cottage gardens are easily identified by the heavy mixture of ornamental and edible plants, giving off a slight sense of organized chaos.

I believe that my unexplained love of cottage gardens came at an early age, due to my obsession with Jane Austen!

While reading her novels, I had a vivid image of what the gardens in her stories must look like. I could easily picture roses throughout the space, and Wisteria climbing up the sides of a small stone cottage. I visualized a stone path lined with lavander, and back planted with layers of tall, whimsical, free flowing plants. At the time, I didn’t grasp that the images in my mind were the makings of a cottage garden.

This particular style doesn’t have the formality, clean lines, and grandeur of a Formal Garden. Instead, it’s a fascinating competition between perennials, annuals, herbs, vegetables and so much more.

The informal design lends the opportunity to utilize every last inch of space. Planting in such abundance proves to create a charming and whimsical space, transporting me right back into a Jane Austen novel.

Its been such an adventure learning the many different gardening styles there are to choose from. I love the idea of utilize every square inch of space, while enjoying how the plants intermingle effortlessly.

What is your favorite style of gardening?

Let me know in the comments below! 

Keep Sparkling!

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