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: #354863 in Books
• Published on: 2000-02-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• 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.

Customer Reviews

A book which provided both validation & inspiration for me
For those of us who like the cottage garden look and live in North America, this is a valuable book. Written in a style laced with humor, it debunks myths and inspires an adventurous approach. It is full of detailed information about how to create the cottage garden look and includes a well organized glossary of specific plants which lend themselves to an easy approach to this style. It also includes a palatable dollop of horticultural history, well written and not overwhelming for those more interested in today! Good enough that I decided I must own it!

Anyone can make a Cottage Garden
Stephen Westcott-Gratton has written a 'hit the nail on the head' how to book on putting in a Cottage Garden. It is obvious he is both gardener and writer because his advice is methodical and his suggestions very workable.

He dispels the myth that English Cottage Gardens need to be contrived, reinforces the necessity for tight plantings and encourages the experimentation of different plants which provide the fun and color for this kind of garden.

This book covers the history of the Cottage Garden and some of the plants traditionally used. It is both an enjoyable read and an informative tome for taking your small spot and turning it into a riot of color and a haven for life of all kinds.

The plant selections are typical of someone who gardens in Canada, but that does not diminish the how to information the book provides.

Plus, Mr. Westcott-Gratton definitely leans to the organic and that is dear to our hearts.

Nice book
I do like this book and I'll probably refer to it often but I'm not quite as enthusiastic about it as the other reviewers. The history was very interesting but because there was so much of it, there wasn't as much coverage of suitable plants as other books. On the plus side of that, the author also didn't go into "information overload" and provide umteen-zillion varieties of every possible rose that could be planted. He did discuss some rarely used plants that I definitely want in my garden and he knows how to grow them, too, which is a plus. He also included some recipes for some of the unusual vegetables. And the pictures are wonderful.