NOTES FROM MY garden

Alexandra Campbell draws inspiration from an Australian cottage garden.

IRECENTLY saw the most delightful modern cottage garden. Theoretically, cottage-garden style dates back to Victorian Britain, but it’s much loved all over the world.

The original idea was that cottage gardeners grew a mix of food and flowers on their own plots, using plants that grew easily in their area, so they didn’t spend much money.

Whether these original cottage gardens ever actually existed in the way they are perceived today is somewhat doubtful, but as a principle it works well for the 21st century.

The cottage garden I saw was Oak Cottage in southern Australia, but it used all the plants we most commonly use in our gardens.

Designed by garden designer Tim Pilgrim, it frames a traditional weatherboard cottage, with a planting that echoes the colour scheme.

Soft blue and grey salvias, artemisia and nepeta contrast with yellow and cream yarrow, kniphofia and erigeron.

There are no rules in cottage-garden style – you can plonk plants wherever you like. You can colour-theme or take no notice of colour.

Tim has distilled a few gardening principles to make the cottage garden both pretty and contemporary.

Firstly, he explained that he plants using a 70 by 30 rule.

“I use seventy per cent ‘safe’ plants,” he explained.

That means familiar plants you know you can grow in your garden.

“And then I experiment with the other thirty per cent,” he added. “If it doesn’t work out, you won’t have too many gaps, but if it does, you can get some unexpectedly good surprises.”

I think that this principle would work well for any type of planting.

I’m sure my herbaceous border would be much better if I focused on plants I know will grow well!

The “safe” plants in Tim’s cottage garden planting are nepeta, erigeron, red valeria, lamb’s ears – also called Stachys byzantina – and some salvias.

These all grow easily in UK gardens.

Tim took one of the principles of naturalistic planting and planted these in larger groups, repeating them at intervals.

This moves away from the “anything goes” cottage-garden planting, but it does look pretty.

He experimented by planting a pink-tinged yarrow that fades to butter yellow over a period of months – called Achillea, “Pineapple Mango”.

He also added some striking yellow kniphofias and tried out some salvias he hadn’t used before.

When it comes to landscaping, Tim advises keeping it natural or handmade, as that is in line with cottagegarden tradition.

This garden doesn’t have a lawn. Many cottage gardens don’t as most of the space is given over to planting.

However, it has paths and clearings in local sand.

Tim uses both wood and corten steel for edging.

There are raised beds and steps made from chunky wooden sleepers, but where he wants a light touch, he used thin corten-steel edging “which fades into the surroundings”.

Corten steel is another modern touch, but its rusty metal finish looks right in both rural and urban settings.

When I asked Tim how to update a cottage garden, he advised adding ornamental grasses.

These wouldn’t have been used in a Victorian cottage garden, but he says they add movement and airiness to borders, and the seedheads are good for birds. And when it comes to garden furniture, Tim recommends natural materials and traditional styles, too.

Timber, cane and traditional metal all look good in a cottage garden.

He’d suggest avoiding overly modern, hard-edged styles.

• Visit Alexandra’s blog online at themiddlesizedgarden.co.uk.