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Homestead Cottage Gardening
Adding Beauty to Your Homestead
Homestead cottage gardening and the beauty it provides has an important place in your homestead.
Sometimes we get so caught up in the practical things, we forget that we need beauty in our lives as well.
A beautiful garden provides serenity to our souls.
Nothing brightens your day better than walking in a beautiful garden.
But I Have to Admit
Homestead cottage gardening was one of the last things I thought about when I first considered self reliance.
Usually when it comes to gardening, if I can't eat it, I'm not interested in growing it.
But in the past year or so, I've come to realize that natural beauty has its crucial place in self reliance as well.
Yes, we should focus on self reliance, but we should also enjoy the journey along the way.
That's where cottage gardening, or more specifically, homestead cottage gardening comes in.
The Origin of Cottage Gardening
The term "cottage garden" originated in England and was a way for the working class - who typically lived in cottages - to have access to fresh fruits, vegetables and meat.
It was old-fashioned self-reliance the English way.
Because they typically did not have much in the way of acreage, cottage gardeners would take advantage of every square foot and plant as many things as possible.
They would use hardy plants that were native to the area and easy to grow.
The design would be informal and they would use whatever materials they had on hand, much like we would in homestead cottage gardening today.
Different Classes, Different Cottage Gardens
In a peasant's cottage garden there would likely be chickens and herbs grown for their medicinal use.
Those in the middle class would have a few more luxuries, such as a family cow, some pigs, a beehive and flowers.
Then during the late nineteenth century many of the English, in reaction to the formal estate gardens, reinvented the cottage gardens, mixing both ornamental and edible plants, and eventually leaning more toward flowers. The result was grace and charm in addition to functionality.
What We Can Learn From Them
We, who are pursuing self reliance today, want a mixture of all three.
We obviously want to grow the practical things, such as vegetables and fruits as well as the medicinal plants in our homestead cottage gardening.
By keeping a beehive on our property, our gardens become much more productive.
If we keep a few pigs, goats or even a cow on our land, their manure goes into the compost garden.
The following spring we have a far more productive garden.
And finally, flowers add beauty to our landscape, but best of all, those flowers can be a practical part of our homestead cottage gardening as well.
The Beautiful, Edible Flower
Violas add a sweet, delicate beauty, roses provide fragrance and charm, and marigolds bring sturdy, cheerful color to your homestead cottage gardening.
But even better, these are all examples of edible flowers that you can add to your salad and even use to make jam.
More Homestead Gardening Links
Purchase bulk seeds for cost savings and self reliant preparation.
Tips on starting seeds inside.
Great vegetables for beginning gardeners.
How to choose the best garden location.
Put in raised beds for a stronger, healthier garden.
Or better still, try these easier raised beds without digging.
How to make your own compost.
Mulching tips to strengthen and protect your plants.
Organic pest control tips
Tips on dealing with poison ivy
Tips on organic container gardening
Find the right garden container
Self sufficient gardening
Tips on composting with worms
How to build and use a cold frame.
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