The Cottage Garden - by Claus Dalby (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Lushly illustrated and with beautifully descriptive text, The Cottage Garden is a guide to appreciating and creating plantings in the classic cottage garden design style"--

Book Synopsis

Through over 700 exquisite photographs and evocative text written by Danish gardening celebrity Claus Dalby, explore the history and development of the beloved cottage garden design style.

In the pages of The Cottage Garden, you'll first draw inspiration from the stories and landscapes of generations of famous cottage gardeners, including Gertrude Jekyll, Vita Sackville-West, William Robinson, Margery Fish, and Tasha Tudor. Then, meet modern cottage gardeners from around the globe who combine billowing masses of flowers such as poppies, delphinium, lupines, foxgloves, peonies, roses, lilies, and many more to create dreamy landscapes infused with the romance and wildness of cottage-style gardening.

You'll find no formal lines, rigid rules, or perfect spacing in the cottage garden. Instead, the form is organic and purposefully unstructured. Plants self-sow here and there, bulbs pop up and spread unrestricted, and everything appears casual; though as you'll come to learn through Dalby's words, it is all done with great intent.

Overflowing with textures and colors, the cottage gardens featured throughout this book in hundreds of full-color photographs are found in places as diverse as Germany, Sweden, Denmark, England, and the United States. The accompanying text is derived from Dalby's personal visits to these gardens, along with his intimate interviews with the resident gardeners.

Dalby provides useful details about the design, development, and continued evolution of cottage gardens. He shares the stories of these breathtaking modern cottage gardens in a way that allows you to glean inspiration you can use to create a cottage garden of your own, whether large or small.

The gardens profiled in these pages exhibit the essential foundational elements and principals of well-designed cottage gardens. Whether home is in the countryside or a suburban subdivision, the profiled gardens will serve as both muse and motivation for the creation of a classic backyard cottage garden in your own space. This gorgeous tome is sure to become the bible of this much-adored classic garden design style.

Also by Claus Dalby: Containers in the Garden

Review Quotes

"...gloriously photographed...will inspire those aiming to create chocolate-box beauty in their own patch."--The Sunday Times

"In a way, this book feels like a tour throughout Europe and the United. While there is some information on plant care, some shows how you can create a landscape with a mix of romance and wilderness." --Susan Bewley, Budget Earth

"Each garden has a short description, plus extended captions of the images - more than 700 beautiful images taken by Darby himself."--Daily Mail

"Sumptuously illustrated, this book is a real treat."
--Gardens Illustrated

"Reading this book makes it seem like you are sitting with Dalby in those gardens, listening to him describe what makes
each one a cottage garden. We soon understand why he says that we love cottage gardens "because they have a soul." Dalby
helps us visualize the souls of these gardens."--Carol Michel, The American Gardener

"This sumptuous coffee-table book by gardener Dalby (Containers in the Garden) showcases some of the choicest cottage gardens in the U.S. and Europe. Garden lovers will be enchanted."--Publishers Weekly

"With its pastoral inspiration, excellent plant selections, and sage advice, The Cottage Garden beautifully captures the pleasures of imperfect gardening. Both armchair gardeners and hands-on cultivators will find inspiration in Dalby's relaxed approach and sumptuous photographs. This book encourages gardeners to embrace nature's beauty and create their own unique cottage garden oasis."--Splash Magazines

"Gardening is a wonderful form of self-expression and I love getting a glimpse into the spaces that other people create. In The Cottage Garden, Claus offers a peek inside some of the most charming gardens around the world and profiles the gardeners who tend them. Readers are sure to find inspiration in its pages."--Erin Benzakein, Floret Flower Farm

"This is a book to treasure! An in-depth look into the history of the Cottage Garden and those who played important roles in the development of this romantic idyl beloved by so many. Claus tells us of his visits to gardens all over the world - some favorites and others unknown - richly illustrated with his own beautiful photographs. Packed with ideas for all gardening enthusiasts, The Cottage Garden is an essential addition to our libraries."--Jenny Rose-Innes, interior and garden designer, author of Australian Designers at Home

"With his unerring eye for color, texture and composition, the 'king of containers' turns his camera and pen to the beauty and romance of cottage gardens around the globe."--Clive Nichols, garden and flower photographer

About the Author

Claus Dalby has been called "the Scandinavian Martha Stewart." He is a designer, florist, and Danish gardener who has amassed a huge fan base in Scandinavia, the US, and around the world. He is also a successful publisher, television personality, and designer of glass vases for Holmegaard. His signature style of gardening uses densely packed plants and changing seasonal displays, often in monochromatic color palettes. Claus also runs an online garden club with monthly subscribers from around the world.