London Cottage Garden

Blogging about cottage garden style in a town garden

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    About


    I’m Julie Quinn and welcome to my gardening blog about a cottage garden in North London.

    My style is a jumbled close planting of shrubs and simple perennials with lots of bulbs, self seeders and herbs. I’m aiming for a chaotic abundance of colour, scent and movement.

    london-cottage-garden-3

    The front garden in Spring

    And this is the back.

    And this is the back garden

    This blog is about how I work on creating this style of garden and what I love about it – what I plant and what I don’t – what has worked and what hasn’t and how we use the space.

    Previously

    We came in 1988 and the garden looked like this:

    garden-1980

    the beginning of my making a garden

    We were so lucky to inherit a magnolia and an apple tree in the back and a big cherry tree in the front.

    garden-1980-1

    front garden in 1988

    Sadly the cherry tree died many years ago and we took it out.

    garden-1980-2

    garden-1980-3

    We’ve had to put up a few new fences over the years but started out with this one.

    garden-1980-4

    I’d previously done nothing more than plant petunias in a window box in a first floor flat.

    For a few years we lived with the lawn, conifers, azaleas and rambling roses.

    Then in the 1990s I visited East Lambrook Manor in Somerset and fell in love with hardy geraniums, alchemilla and the wild unkempt look of a true cottage garden – I was hooked!

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    Fresh from @alstroemeriaben half a bunch in a vint Fresh from @alstroemeriaben half a bunch in a vintage vase #alstroemeria #britishflowers #cottagegardenflowers #londoncottagegarden
    Mr Feral Cat doing his bit for Nature. Dispersing Mr Feral Cat doing his bit for Nature.  Dispersing seeds. #feralcat #mrgreycat #seeds
    New blog about alstroemerias see link in bio @alst New blog about alstroemerias see link in bio @alstroemeriaben #cottagegardenflowers #cottagegarden #londoncottagegarden #flowersinavase #vintagevase #britishflowersweek
    @alstroemeriaben flowers mail order and now in a v @alstroemeriaben flowers mail order and now in a vintage vase (1930s?) #alstroemeria #britishflowersweek #alstroemeriaben
    @alstroemeriaben delivery from arrival to the vint @alstroemeriaben delivery from arrival to the vintage vase  delivered all year round #alstroemeria #britishflowerweek #londoncottagegarden #vintagevases
    Gorgeous fresh flowers from @alstroemeriaben in @b Gorgeous fresh flowers from @alstroemeriaben in @britishflowersweek
    Just one stem from @alstroemeriaben - from a deliv Just one stem from @alstroemeriaben - from a delivery of 40 beautiful #alstroemerias by post
    Erythrosora fern really is this colour. In a pot i Erythrosora fern really is this colour. In a pot it looks fab for 10 months of the year.  #londoncottagegarden #japanesefern #ferns #containergardening
    Fabulous delivery today from @alstroemeriaben of 4 Fabulous delivery today from @alstroemeriaben of 4 big bunches of alstroemerias.  Here are just 4 stems. #alstroemeriaben  #cottagegardenflowers #alstroemerias  #londoncottagegarden
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    Does her bum look big in this pic? Yes it does. # Does her bum look big in this pic? Yes it does.  #tortiecat #tortiegirl
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