English Cottage Garden Nursery

2 Hurst Poultry Farm, Giggers Green Road, Aldington, Kent, TN25 7BU

Tel/Fax: 01233 720907

The traditional cottage garden was an informal riot of colour. Plants would be planted or would seed themselves wherever there was a space. Initially the cottage garden was constructed for its utilitarianism. The cottagers of old would use their patch of land primarily to grow vegetables and fruit, and herbs would reside near the kitchen door for easy retrieval in cooking and for medicinal purposes. Flowers were almost a side issue. Although the flower beds would be wild and informal, there was a rigid orderliness to the fruit and vegetable sections of the garden. There were no neat lawns, just paths bisecting all the growth.
However, flowers are inherently beautiful and impossible to hate, and they soon achieved an importance in the garden equal to that of the food-supplying plants. The wild-flowers self-seeding amongst the other flowers gave the cottage garden its unplanned and natural appearance so many gardeners aspire to today.
So, why bother planting a cottage garden? There are many reasons, the most important being to help conserve our native wild plants and traditional garden flowers - and, of course, to encourage wildlife into the garden by providing them with natural habitats. But there is also the reason that a cottage garden is so attractive. By planting flowers of different heights and colours you add texture to the garden. The plants can also be left to their own devices, so there is very little maintenance involved and they will soon spread and remove the need for weeding! Of course, the whole garden need not be devoted to cottage garden plants. Perhaps just plant a selection of these flowers in your existing borders, or in pots and containers. A rusty old watering can or pail planted with wild flowers spilling out of it looks superb. Or cluster together rough old terracota pots filled with cottage garden flowers and have a few pots lying amongst them empty. If you have an old fence you've been thinking of replacing, don't replace it just yet but let annual climbers, such as Sweet Peas, scramble all over it, then pull your fence down and replace it after summer! A pond can look more natural and wild if a profusion of suitable cottage garden plants and wild flowers are planted around it. The ideas are endless. You could even set aside one part of the garden to contain only cottage garden flowers or perhaps herbs. Another eye-catching idea is to leave an area of lawn unmowed and develop it as a meadow area, planting or sowing wild flowers into it.

Many species of bats are becoming rare due to lack of both natural roosting sites and a plentiful supply of insect food (due to increased urbanisation and current agricultural practices). It is therefore important to encourage bats into your garden. Bats also benefit the gardener by eating pests. The following plants provide food for that will attract the insects that bats feed on - and, thus, also attract bats.

Bladder Campion; Borage; Corn Marigold; Chives; Dog Rose; Evening Primrose; Golden Rod; Honeysuckle; Lemon Balm; Marjoram; Poppy; Red Valerian; Sage; Soapwort; Tobacco; Wild Cornflower; Wild Wall Flower; Yarrow

Some Plants to Attract Bees

Bees are important pollinators in the garden, pollinating flowers and vegetables.

Betony; Birds Foot Trefoil; Bush Basil; Dyers Chamomile; Chives; Comfrey; Evening Primrose; Feverfew; Foxglove; Garlic Mustard; Greater Knapweed; Hounds Tongue; Hyssop; Jacob's Ladder; Joe Pye Weed; Lady's Smock; Lavender; Lesser Knapweed; Purple Loosestrife; Red Campion; St John's Wort; Teasel; Toadflax; Viper's Bugloss; Wild Pansy; Woodruff; Yarrow

Some Plants to Attract Birds

Birds are good pest controllers - they'll eat slugs and snails, for example. They also enliven the garden with their song. The following plants produce seeds that birds find attractive.

Forget-me-not; Greater Knapweed; Honesty; Poppy; Small Scabious; Solidgao (Golden Rod); Teasel

Some Plants to Attract Butterflies

The following plants produce nectar-rich flowers that are very attractive to butterflies and moths.

Angelica; Betony; Birds Foot Trefoil; Bladder Campion; Candytuft; Carnation; Chrysanthemum; Corn Marigold; Cowslip; Devil's Bit Scabious; Feverfew; Field Scabious; Forget-me-not; Foxglove; Garlic Mustard;n Golden Rod; Greater Knapweed; Hollyhock; Honesty; Honeysuckle; Hyssop; Lady's Bedstraw; Lady's Smock; Lavender; Lupin; Marigold; Marjoram; Mignonette; Ox-eye Daisy; Phlox; primrose; Red Hot Poker; Red Valerian; Rosemary; St John's Wort; Sea Holly; Sedum Spectabile; Small Scabious; Sneezeweed; Soapwort; Sorrel; Sweet Rocket; Teasel; Thrift; Thyme; Toadflax; Vervain; Viper's Bugloss; Wall Flower; Wild Clematis; Wild Pansy; Yarrow