English Cottage Gardening: For American Gardeners, Revised Edition

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 256 pages
• Published by: W. W. Norton & Company; Rev Exp edition July 2000
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 039304789X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0393047899
• Book Dimensions: 10.3 x 10 x 1 inches
• Weighs: 3 pounds

From Library Journal
The eclectic sprawl of perennials, roses, shrubs, and vines that is the essence of the English cottage garden is a look much sought after by many American gardeners. Hensel, a photographer and contributor to Horticulture magazine, presents ten of these romantic and intimate gardens, eight found in Britain and two in the United States. The text combines personal stories of reshaping landscapes with more specific information on individual plants and plant combinations. Each chapter is complemented by lush color photographs and a bird's-eye sketch of the property. Source lists for roses, perennials, and bulbs are followed by cultural information on 75 cottage perennials, including the essential trio of hardy geraniums, lady's mantle, and catmint. That it is not necessary to "know a potato from a peony" to establish a cottage garden can be debated. But many garden enthusiasts will be inspired by the seemingly unplanned profusion of lupines, lavender, phlox, and hollyhocks found in these pages. Recommended for greater gardening collections.
- Virginia A. Henrichs, Chicago Botanic Garden Lib., Glencoe, Ill.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Horticulture
With [this] inspirational pattern book at hand, American gardeners at all levels of expertise can convincingly re-create the enchanting English cottage gardens in their own backyards.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: English Cottage Gardening for American Gardeners (Hardcover) This book was constantly in my possession during the winter before I created my first cottage garden. It is filled with helpful material, plant lists and horticultural notes, and seems to be as useful to the beginner as to the professional. She showcases ten different gardens, and gives some history on how and why they came to be. The beautiful photographs alone caught my attention for a long time. The only disappointment to me was that eight out of the ten gardens were English; I was hoping to see more American gardens. However, one of the featured American gardens is Tasha Tudor's garden (my absolute favorite), definitely worth drooling over. I think one of the nicest aspects of this book is that it removes the intimidation factor and proves you can have a fabulous garden without all the planning and precision of many gardens.. Definitely a must for cottage garden enthusiasts!