In his introduction to The Cottage Gardener’s Companion: A Seasonal Guide to Plants & Plantings for Informal Gardens, Douglas Taylor said that cottage gardens are like horses. They are easier to recognize than they are to describe: “Perhaps the chief hallmark is informality.” He observed that the old cottage gardens did not have lawns because…
Category: Kitchen Garden
What Is A Kitchen Garden or a Potager? – Free Plans for a French Kitchen Garden
For the past 100 years or so, many homes have incorporated flower gardens into their landscapes, but that has not always been true. By the time of the Renaissance, gardens became part of most of the European lifestyle. Many of the earliest gardens–especially those that were associated with large estates–were formal, highly stylized, heavily manicured, stiff,…
Free Plan for a Heritage Vegetable Garden – Save Space by Growing on Trellises and Walls
Long before the common, every-man began gardening, there were the stiff and manicured estate gardens–the gardens intended for a show of lavish wealth. When the commoners began gardening, however, they did so simply to provide food and medicines for themselves. Some of the medicinal plants were flowering herbs, and other flowers were introduced into the small…
Free Garden Plan for Small Cool Weather & Warm Weather Vegetable Gardens to Grow Against A Fence
When your vegetable garden space is tight, growing upwards, along a fence or wall, increases your potential yield. Check out these free Better Homes & Gardens plans for a small 4′ x 12′ kitchen garden space. Both a cool weather and warm weather plan is included. “Our cool-season garden features vegetables and herbs that thrive…