an introduction to cottage gardens hello welcome to videojug my name is Tom Cole I'm head of horticulture at Cape Amana college and you join in this very traditional English style cottage garden as you can see by looking at the beds very informal very relaxed very he woody piggledy as opposed cottage garden planting is different to any other kind it breaks the rules with plants being placed close together and seemingly at random in reality however it takes time and care to design a garden that has an entirely natural layer to it if he could be with me now all you could smell would be the heady aroma of rosemary lovely an evergreen lovely texture great for really perfuming a room this is what we like about our English gardens we use these real traditional plants another one is lavender a little bit lighter in color more floriferous loads of flowers actually in the summer months and again being in a cottage garden like this you would cut these flowers and have these in your guard in your house and actually have them displayed and they would make the room very fragrant a cottage garden should always feel warm and cozy perhaps even a little claustrophobic use height such as the arch here along with hedges trellises and pergolas to turn the garden into your own enclosed little world at the front of the house you've got this wonderful solid timber awning and what better to hide that than to use something like this honeysuckle really sweetly scented come out the front door in the morning your blasted by that fragrance also it's a great cut flower that you can use inside it's again another great traditional plant that you could use thankfully a thatch cottage is not a must for a great cottage garden you can create one in any space whether it be a small plot with a modern home a narrow terrace garden or just a tiny patio garden no English traditional cottage garden would be complete without our good old favorite roses here you got a fabulous rose being you to create a great entrance but also sense but dotted around in the garden you've got shrubby roses and Bush roses which all contribute to that sort of heady aroma that you get in a good true English cottage style garden you