Starting a Cottage Garden

February 1, 2022 Jordan Charbonneau Leave a comment

If you’ve been dreaming of flower gardens of spring, odds are you’ve come across enchanting images of care-free looking cottage gardens. Their vibrant colors and seamless blend of plants are a pleasure to look at, especially in the depths of this cold winter! If you’re considering creating a cottage garden on your property this spring, here’s a bit of advice.

How to Start a Cottage Garden

Like so much of gardening, building a cottage garden is an exercise in patience. Many of those beautiful cottage gardens you see on Instagram and Pinterest have been created over years. Gardeners slowly adding perennials, shrubs, and self-sowing flowers as they hone their style and skill through trial and error.

Plan to start small. Choose a few of your favorite varieties and maybe a shrub or two. You don’t want to spend tons on seeds and plants only to realize it’s too much for you to care for or some aren’t suited to your garden or style.

Find friends or local gardeners who have similar tastes. You can swap seeds, cuttings, and perennial divisions with friends to help expand your garden more quickly and affordably.

If you have a large area that you’re set on planting, consider seeding a section of it in a wildflower mix. Mixes are great for pollinators and other wildlife. They also allow you to try many new flower varieties and are generally low-maintenance.

Red Drummond Phlox for a Cottage Garden — Red Drummond Phlox

Flowers and Plants for Cottage Gardens

One of the best things about cottage gardens is that there are no hard rules. You can play with the varieties you enjoy. Don’t be afraid to try blending in a few herbs or even vegetables. Here are just a few of the types that spring up in many cottage garden scenes:

Hollyhocks

These biennial flowers invoke images of English countryside gardens. We carry Outhouse Hollyhocks with a mix of deep red, pink, and white blooms and Black Hollyhocks with satin blue-black flowers.
Strawberries

Strawberries make a beautiful, spreading ground cover with leaves that turn red in the fall. They’re fun for children and adults alike to snack on as a they wander through the flowers.
Bee Balm

Bee balm is also called bergamot or monarda. This unique-looking native flower is medicinal and a favorite of hummingbirds. It prefers moist soil and will thrive in partial shade.
Daffodils

The quintessential spring flower, daffodils, are great naturalizing bulbs to tuck into your garden next fall. They bring cheery, early color to the landscape.
Delphinium

Also called Larkspurs, these annuals bring a lot of color to cottage-style gardens. The name Delphinium originated with the ancient Greeks. It’s derived from the Greek word “Delphis,” which means dolphin. The Greeks thought that the flower bud resembled the shape of a dolphin’s nose.
Echinacea (coneflowers)

Hardy, native, medicinal, self-seeding, and great for attracting pollinators, these native flowers are a must-have. Note that when starting seeds indoors, echinacea seeds do best when they go through cold stratification. We carry four varieties at SESE.
Sweet Peas

These spring beauties are a favorite for cottage gardens. They add splashes of color and height early in the season, but you’ll need a sturdy trellis.
Lavender

Fragrant and medicinal, growing lavender from seed is worth the effort. We carry perennial English Munstead Lavender, which looks excellent in solitary clumps or lining pathways.
Foxglove

These towering spires of colorful bell-shaped flowers look like something out of fairytale. They’re ideal for adding height to beds.

All parts of foxglove are toxic. Be careful planting these in gardens visited by young children and pets.
Chives

Chives are both tasty and beautiful. Their subtle purple flowers look great mixed with other brilliant colored flowers.
Phlox

There are many species of phlox that come in a range of colors and heights. The Red Drummond Phlox that we carry is good for pollinators and adding color to the fall garden. The blooms are very hardy surviving down to 20°F.
Thyme

Creeping Thyme’s lemony aroma and creeping nature make it an excellent ground cover for cottage gardens and rock beds.
Swiss Chard

Chard’s lush, deep green leaves add an edible element to your flower garden and look stunning throughout the summer. For a splash of color, consider Prismatic Rainbow Chard or Ruby Red. Fordhook Giant Chard is an excellent choice for larger visual interest.

There are a few additional considerations when selecting varieties. Choose varieties with varying bloom times to keep your garden looking lush and colorful all season. You also want to look at what conditions they grow best in, such as partial shade or sandy soil.

You may also want to repeat colors or patches of specific varieties to help create a cohesive look throughout your garden.

Other Additions

In addition to the plants, trees, and shrubs, cottage gardens frequently contain other features to give them interest. You’ll see gardens with winding pea gravel pathways, fountains, birdbaths, trellises, and fences. As each cottage garden is as unique as its gardener, you can feel free to use whatever elements speak to you, whether it’s a white picket fence to line with hollyhocks or an old iron bed frame covered with vining morning glories.

Maintaining a Cottage Garden

While they tend to give the impression of having sprung up naturally, cottage gardens can take quite a bit of maintenance.

Watering

How often you need to water will depend on various factors, including the varieties you’ve chosen, your location, and the weather each year. While some flowers are more drought-resistant than others, like echinacea, most flowers will produce more blooms when they receive adequate water.

If you want a low-maintenance garden, it may be worth investing in drip irrigation, soaker hoses, or a sprinkler that you can set to a timer.

Deadheading

Many flowers will have longer bloom periods if you consistently deadhead them. This means that you remove spent flowers. Some varieties that do well with this include zinnias, hollyhocks, sweet peas, petunias, cosmos, delphiniums, and bee balm.

Keep Plantings in Check

You may notice that many cottage gardens include flowers like rudbeckia that tend to naturalize and spread on their own. To prevent these from pushing out other less vigorous varieties, you may need to weed them out of areas you don’t want them to spread. You can also share clumps with others or move them to new places in your garden.

Dividing Perennials

Some perennials like phlox, heuchera (coral bells), and chives perform best with periodic dividing. You’ll want to divide them every couple of years to keep them looking fresh and thriving. Thankfully, this is another great opportunity to expand your garden or share with friends.

Cottage gardens are a fantastic choice for creating a garden that represents your uniques style and grows with you. Use these tips as a starting point as you grow your own.

Garden Advice

Guide to Growing Great Carrots

January 25, 2022 Jordan Charbonneau Leave a comment

Many garden articles and books out there suggest carrots as one of the easiest crops for beginners to add to their garden. However, that isn’t always the case. You’re not alone if you didn’t have great success with carrots! Thankfully, a few techniques can help make growing carrots so much easier.

Start with the Soil

A great garden always starts with the soil, but this is especially true for carrots. They need light, well-drained soil to grow full beautiful roots. Many folks in the Southeast are starting with heavy clay soils, which can hinder carrot root development.

One quick way to get great soil is to build a raised bed and fill it with finished compost. Raised beds can be the perfect solution for root crops; however, they also come with some downsides we discuss in our post, The Pros and Cons of Raised Beds.

You don’t have to build a raised bed, though, and it is possible to improve your soil no matter what you’re starting with. If you want to get a good carrot crop this year, it will take some work. Broadfork or garden fork your bed to a depth of at least 9 inches and add several inches of finished compost. If you’re working with heavy soil, it’s a good idea to add peat moss or leaf mold to provide good drainage, loose structure, and adequate moisture-holding capacity.

It’s also a good idea to have your soil tested. Carrots, like other crops, have specific growing requirements. They need a good bit of potassium and phosphorus and a pH between 6.0 and 6.8.

Soil that’s too acidic or low in potassium and other nutrients can lead to poor growth. You can correct these issues with amendments like wood ash which is rich in potassium, bone meal which is rich in phosphorus, and lime to make the soil more alkaline.

Avoid adding fresh manure or fertilizer before planting. Too much nitrogen encourages top growth but causes rough and highly branched roots.

Select an Adaptable Variety

Not all carrot varieties are created equal. If you’re dealing with less than ideal soil conditions, you’ll have better luck with a variety adapted to such conditions.

Chantenay Red Core Carrots are an heirloom variety introduced from France in the late 1800s. They’re a blocky, broad-shouldered variety with blunt tips that do well in clay and a wide range of soils.

Another heirloom that dates to 1884, Oxheart Carrots produce shorter, wider roots great for heavy clay, shallow, or rocky soils. Give them plenty of growing space! Oxhearts can weigh up to one pound.

Danvers 126 Carrots are a popular variety for a good reason. Dating to 1947, these carrots are widely adapted, productive, and heat-tolerant. They’re especially suited to growing in clay soil, and the strong tops aid harvesting.

Sow Your Carrot Seeds

Always direct sow carrots. Sow carrots 1/4 inch deep and cover them with fine, light soil. Keep the soil moist be careful not to wash away soil and seeds with a strong water source. Sprinkle wood ash along the row to prevent wireworm damage.

Carrots need consistent moisture to germinate and do best with relatively cool soil temperatures. Seeds take about five days to germinate but may take longer in cool weather.

Planting carrots in hot, dry, midsummer weather for a fall crop can be a challenging task. Thankfully, there’s a trick to make it much easier. After sowing carrot seed, cover your rows with boards or cardboard. This keeps the soil cool and moist and improves germination. Check under the boards every day and remove them as soon as you see that the carrots have germinated.

Companion Plants for Carrots

Onions, garlic, and chives can help repel carrot pests like aphids and carrot rust flies. Interplanting carrots with onions in a ratio of 1 to 2 reduces carrot fly damage by 70%. Carrots also help onions by repelling thrips which can damage onions.

Radish seeds are super quick to germinate! Sow then with carrot seed to prevent the soil from crusting.

Strong smelling marigolds deter carrot rust flies. There’s also some evidence that intercropping marigolds or calendula with carrots increases carrot roots’ sugar content.

Caring for Carrots

Once your seedlings put out true leaves, thinning them is essential. It feels like you’re destroying good plants but remember that none of your carrots will produce nice roots if they’re overcrowded! Thin to 1-2 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart.

When your seedlings reach several inches high, it’s a good idea to mulch around them. Mulching keeps the soil cool and moist. Water as needed to keep the soil moist but not soggy. Extreme fluctuations of soil moisture between dry and wet conditions may cause cracking of the roots.

Harvesting & Storing Carrots

Most carrot varieties are best when harvested when they’re no larger than 1 inch in diameter; Oxhearts are one of the obvious exceptions to this. If you’re having trouble pulling carrots, carefully use a garden fork to lift them from the soil.

For storage, cut off the tops to about 1/4 inch. Store in the refrigerator or overwinter in the garden by covering with a thick, loose mulch such as straw.

Garden Advice

Halfway to Spring: Imbolc

January 20, 2022 Jordan Charbonneau Leave a comment

Also called Candlemas, Oimelc, or St. Brigid’s Day, Imbolc was a Celtic celebration that took place on February 1st or 2nd each year. This celebration symbolizes the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.

The Romans and ancient Brits also celebrated this important time of year. The Romans called it Lupercalia, and the Brits called it Sul-Minerva. There’s evidence that this celebration dates back to the Neolithic, when megalithic chambers marked the light of the rising sun on this day.

Imbolc was believed to have originally meant “in the belly of the Mother” or just “in the belly.” It was a time when many herd animals were pregnant, and winter food stores were getting low. It was a time to look forward to the season to come.

For the Celts, this festival celebrated Brigid a maiden sun goddess who brought spring to the land. She’s associated with light and warmth; candles and fires were often part of the celebration. Brigid was later added to Christian celebrations as St. Brigid.

According to the Boston Public Library, a modern celebration can include a chant to send away winter:

“Old man winter, it’s time to go!

Take with you these piles of snow!

Melt, snow, melt!

Spring will soon return!

A flame, a fire, all the warmth it brings,

melt the snow, cold be gone, welcome back the spring!“

Agricultural Calendar

History aside, this time of year is an important date in the agricultural calendar, and it’s time we start looking ahead to spring too! In zone 7a, we begin sowing seeds indoors this time of year. Here’s what we’re planting:

Broccoli (Sow indoors Jan 31-May 31)
Cabbage (Sow indoors Jan 31-Jul 1)
Cauliflower (Sow indoors Jan 31-Mar 7)
Celery & Celeriac (Jan 21-Feb 15)

Coastal gardeners, you’ll have mild winters that will allow your planting dates to be 2 to 4 weeks earlier than ours. Mountain gardeners have harsher winters and will be 2 to 4 weeks behind us.

Find the complete list of our recommended planting dates in the back of our catalog or click here.

Seed Starting

It’s also an excellent time to learn about or review good seed starting practices. Good practices like consistent watering, using a proper potting mix, potting seedlings up as needed, and hardening off transplants lead to a more healthy and prosperous garden throughout the season.

Garden Planning

If you haven’t already done so, it’s also time to plan your garden. You’ll want to consider crop rotations and successions, new varieties, and isolation distances.

Here are some of our resources to plan your garden:

Are you getting ready for spring yet?

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange