GARDENS in time
The classic imagery of a cottage garden is the quintessential Victorian-style watercolour of a garden scene. Often showing a thatched cottage, there will be abundant flowering borders with pollinators alighting on blooms, trees and shrubs adding a little structure and casting shade, and maybe the odd cabbage being picked, too. It’s a picture of the Victorian dream of a perfect rustic life.
‘A cottage garden is different things to different people: it represents layers and layers of garden history,’ explains Claire Masset, author of the National Trust’s Cottage Gardens: A Celebration of Britain’s Most Beautiful Cottage Gardens, with Advice on Making Your Own.
‘Universally, I think cottage
