The Cottage Garden by Claus Dalby

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The Cottage Garden by Claus Dalby

This book came out on September 5, 2023, and the subtitle is simply perfect in its directness - there isn't one. It doesn't need one.

Danish gardening celebrity Claus Dalby [CLOWS DAL-bee] takes us on an enchanting journey through the world's most beloved cottage gardens in this sumptuous 336-page celebration of informal gardening.

Through over 700 exquisite photographs and intimate storytelling, Dalby reveals why cottage gardens continue to captivate gardeners worldwide.

Let me share two particularly moving passages from the book. First, Dalby explains his patient approach to creating this work:

I decided to write this book many years ago. It took quite a while to publish it for the simple reason that I had to make up my mind about which gardens to feature. And that took time-a lot of time.

Gardens with a real cottage feel aren't found on just any street corner, but I am happy with the many excellent examples that made their way into the book in the end. The search took me far and wide, but England is richly represented, of course.

We start with Barnsdale Gardens, created by Geoff Hamilton (1936-1996), perhaps the most prominent figure in the recent cottage garden resurgence. My journey also took me to Germany to an incredibly enchanting garden close to the Danish-German border. I titled this part of the book "The Real Thing" because this garden is one of the most cottage-like imaginable-not least due to its charming buildings.

My home country of Denmark is represented by three gardens. I made it to Sweden as well, specifically, to the picturesque little port of Kivik on the south coast. I also chose one garden in the United States. The book returns to England-the home of the style-in between each of these presentations from other countries.

The cottage garden is clearly more popular than ever, almost certainly because of its informal approach, the profusion of flowers, and the dreamy ambience. Of particular concern in our modern era, cottage gardens also offer great biodiversity. They are good places for human, animal, and insect life.

Then, in a moment of pure insight, he captures the essence of why we're drawn to cottage gardens:

Why are cottage gardens so widely admired and coveted?

I'm pretty sure it's because they have a soul.

We are drawn to the lush, the informal, the slightly wild. It's a haphazard approach to gardening, in which empty spaces are banned. Plants are tightly packed, shoulder to shoulder. It's about being deliberately wild. My own garden is far from the cottage style, but I am greatly inspired by it.

I have drawn on the best from many eras: tight yew hedges from the Baroque garden, pruned trees from the Renaissance garden, winding paths and a garden pavilion from the English garden, and plants from the cottage garden. My garden pays homage to the natural world and is inspired by both William Robinson's and Margery Fish's books.

Within the overall framework, I like to use plants that look wild, for example, the kinds of umbelliferous plants we often see at the edge of ditches. I particularly like cow parsley and wild carrot, the latter of which is also poetically named Queen Anne's lace by the English. Dill and fennel, with their lime-colored inflorescences, are also important elements in my beds.

This book is 336 pages of pure cottage garden magic, taking us from the historical influences of Gertrude Jekyll and Vita Sackville-West to modern interpretations across Europe and America.

You can get a copy of The Cottage Garden by Claus Dalby and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $28.

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