5 Must-Read Books for Designing a Secret Formal Cottage Garden (My Current Inspirations)
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During these cold, snowy January days, I have been working on plans to redesign the back garden. When I first turned the backyard into flower beds, I was mostly growing cut flowers to sell. While I learned so much from that journey (seed starting, succession planting, etc.), the unpredictability of flower farming and lack of growing space made gardening less enjoyable. So, I focused my business efforts on growing and selling cut flower seedling kits as well as installing cut flower gardens for clients. I’ve really enjoyed seeing familiar faces each spring, eager to get their flower gardens started, followed by messages and pictures of colorful, lush flower gardens and bouquets later in the growing season. This transition has opened up a lot of growing space in the garden, so I’m taking the opportunity to redesign the space. The aesthetic I am going for is a secret, formal, cottage garden vibe. I received questions about the books I am currently consulting for inspiration, and thought it might be helpful to share them in this space.
The Theory and Practice of Gardening
I first heard about this book while watching “A Little Chaos”, a movie about the creation of the gardens at Versailles starring Kate Winslet and Alan Rickman. The book consists of scanned black and white pages from a book published in 1728 about the theory and practice of creating pleasure gardens. The many drawings of parterres, groves, and bowling-greens are a great source of inspiration for formal garden layout possibilities. Additionally, if you are interested in history, I believe you will find the methods and tools used during this era not just educational, but quite fascinating and impressive.
Encyclopedia of Garden Plants For Every Location
If you are not sure what to plant where, then this book is for you. I like to use it to research flower color and texture recipes for creating beautiful cottage garden borders. It has opened my mind to ideas I hadn’t previously considered. The book discusses plant locations (sun or shade) and planting for special effects (garden styles, seasonal interest, color and scent, etc.) Each plant is featured with an image, plant name, plant dimensions, soil type, hardiness, and more.
English Cottage Gardening for American Gardeners
I bought this book after borrowing a large stack of books from the library in search of cottage garden inspiration. Its many colorful pictures are useful for visual inspiration, and the accompanying plant lists are helpful for those wanting to recreate the designs. This paragraph on the book cover sums it up well: “The gardens in this beautiful book are not those of the great estates of England, manicured by staffs of professional gardeners. They are, instead, labors of love on the part of individual homeowners, many of whom started with bleak, rubble-strewn lots and went on to create the enchanted settings featured here.”
The Gardens of Gertrude Jekyll
Gertrude Jekyll (1843–1932) was a highly influential British horticulturist, garden designer, writer, and artist who created or advised on over 400 gardens across the UK, Europe, and the US, pioneering the naturalistic English cottage garden style with harmonious planting, color schemes, and a shift away from formal Victorian designs. Many of Jekyll’s gardens were large, but their design is divided into smaller components that can be adapted to a backyard. What I love about this book is the included planting plans illustrated in watercolor. It also covers planting ideas for visual interest throughout the seasons.
The Land Gardeners Cut Flowers
This coffee table book is a treat for the eyes, full of lush, colorful garden photography. The inspirational photos even include image lists of roses, dahlias, peonies, bulbs, and annuals recommended for cut flower growing.
I hope you find these books just as helpful, and let me know what books you consult for garden inspiration in the comments below!