I think there's a circular reference going on there...they say don't follow the rules, yet they set up 10 rules, then say "the biggest rule is..." and again follow that up with "don't follow the rules."

OMG I'm getting a headache. Need more caffeine...

I think the biggest "rule" is that you need to know what your personal style & personality is. While I may marvel at the structured & even flow of certain mass plantings & professional garden landscapes, I know I could never achieve that because my tastes & personality are all over the place- very much an 'abstract painting' kinda personality.

So if you 'think' you want a cottage garden, would you really ever want that in YOUR space? My sister likes my gardens, but she would never garden that way- haphazardly. I'm a winter-sower, also, and "plunking & running" is about the best technique I've found that lends itself so well to cottage gardening. If there's a space, it MUST be filled!

And I think all the rest of 1-10 just fall naturally into place, whether you use 1 idea or several of them combined. It all works, and in the end, they are all "cottage gardens" because of the styles that are naturally employed by the person creating it.

Lol - this description sounds more like Shabby Chic or country to me than actual cottage gardens. To me, cottage is more about the flowers than the accessories...

My garden wouldn't qualify by most people's definitions, anyhow - not a curved line in sight, hardly any accessories, and the few that I have are not vintage at all (a stepping stone with a sun and moon, for instance). My patio furniture is metal from Home Depot (tho the chairs don't match the table, fwiw).

I would love to have a white picket fence! There is a wooden fence on a backside of my garden that belongs to my neighbors, and recently they had it painted, and had a hard time picking the color. I was trying to convince painters to go with white when they asked for my opinion :). Well, they chose the neutral stain instead of paint. I am blessed with these neighbors - they are not gardeners by any means, and don't mind me using their fence (my side) to grow vines, and hang some decorations on it.
In cottage garden there are more exceptions from the rules then rules, IMO. And it's great - because it becomes an expression of one's heart and personality.

I like curves and informality -- probably because I am naturally messy.

OT musing:
I was thinking the other night about the formal order of potagers and how it evolved from medieval monasteries when much of the world was big and wild and untamed. The order and peace of a formal garden was a respite from that.
Now the world is tamed and controlled, cemented and organized, so informal, natural spaces like cottage gardens and natural gardens are a relief from that.

Thanks for the link - I like to read articles about cottage gardens and use some of what they say for ideas. However, before we get too involved in trying to follow rules I think it would be useful to remember that most of the old cottage gardeners in England never knew there were rules and they still managed to grow those wonderful classic gardens.

Many people live in a world where they need instructions and rules before they do anything so perhaps rules can be helpful to them. I think for others they just follow their hearts or instinct to create their garden dreams.

I think I my garden fits a lot of what is described, not because someone said, "You must have these things to have a cottage garden," and not because I read it in a book, but rather the garden and the "stuff" I have in it came about because I liked it. I like homey, curvy, & rustic. I like iron & wood. I like an over-abundance of flowers that play like children instead of march like soldiers.

In reading what I just wrote, I realize a modern garden could also contain many of these elements and still be modern. Oh well.

I found an old 1920's iron gate that I love and am re-doing (stripping, coating with a rust retardant, and re-painting). It's rusty and the paint is extremely thick and chipping off. It's imperfect like me, so it will fit right in. :-)

Everyone looks at cottage gardening from their own perspective and that's just fine.

Thanks for posting this.

ajpa - the world might have been large, but what was explored was very organized. This is how the cottage garden came to be.
The peasant had little space which was not the space of the lord of the manor. They used it to grow veggies for their body, and flowers for their soul. If you look at what they ate, it was mostly organ meats, ground meats, if they ate meat at all, as the lord got all of the prime cuts. So, they needed the herbs, etc., to stew up comestible foods.

Nancy.

I found a quote today about cottage gardening, and wanted to share:

"The beauty of cottage gardening is that there are no rules to follow or conventions to adhere to. Let the desire for informality and functionality be your creative focus when planning and planting your little piece of paradise". David Salman