Product Description

For gardeners who love the riot of shapes, colors, and textures to be found in the cottage garden, Stephen Westcott-Gratton's Creating a Cottage Garden in North America offers a rich mix of history, practical advice for starting one, design tips, and plant profiles--especially of those native to our continent. Although this cozy style of garden originated in England among peasants who need pretty practicality--it fed livestock and it also satisfied the need for the beauty of flowers--it has much to offer the modern American gardener. Traditional English cottage gardens had about the same amount of garden space as do modern homes in many urban centers. Applying the wisdom of a garden style in which plants--whether flowers, herbs, fruits, or vegetables-- are packed densely together makes perfect sense for the gardener with only a postage- stamp yard.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #644504 in Books
• Published on: 2000-02-24
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .2 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 160 pages

From the Publisher
There are many advantages to the cottage garden style, including not needing a big budget, since additional structures such as trellises or arbors are kept to a minimum and most plants can be grown from seed. You won't need to employ a landscape architect, because that will be your job. You won't need to spend a lot of time cutting the grass every Saturday morning, because there won't be much. For at least half the year, you won't have to pay high prices for organically grown fruit, herbs, and vegetables, because you'll have your own. Creating a Cottage Garden in North America is not only a definitive, hands-on guide to his popular garden style, but it is also a lively read that reveals the romance and the reality of the cottage garden.

About the Author
Stephen Westcott-Gratton is a horticulturist, garden consultant, landscape designer, educator, and lecturer. He was appointed Chief Horticulturist at the Civic Garden Centre of Metropolitan Toronto in 1995. He appears regularly on television and was the Ontario regional host of Canadian Gardening Television, now in its second season. Stephen has been quoted as an expert in many publications and is a member of the Garden Writers' Association of America.