The English Cottage Garden with Andrew Sankey

The instantly recognizable English cottage garden encapsulates that delightful mix of scented climbers, drifts of flowers inter-mingled with herbs and vegetables, fruit trees and traditional features. Much loved and copied throughout the world, it is uniquely individual. With no strict rules to adhere to, it is a garden style that is both informal and functional, celebrating fragrance, flowers and seasonal interest at its heart. The old cottage style of gardening, that blended planting to create a flowery yet productive plot within a small space, is still highly relevant and easily transferable to today's modern garden, whether it be a city courtyard or a large garden in the country.

The lecture will cover all aspects of designing a cottage-style garden; from choosing the right trees, climbers, shrubs and perennials to creating an authentic cottage feel to the planting It also covers the use of colour within the garden; how features can establish a framework and create focal points; and why companion planting is essential to this style.

Andrew Sankey left teaching (Head of Graphics/Design) in 1989 to start a Garden Design & Landscaping business in Lincolnshire. He later moved to a cottage near Woodhall Spa, Lincs in 1992 and created a cottage garden which was opened twice a year for the NGS and other groups.

He became Chairman of the Lincolnshire branch of the Cottage Garden Society and began lecturing on cottage gardens and related subjects (including lecture tours to Minnesota and Wisconsin in the USA).

He’s written booklets on Companion Planting, Cottage Favourites and Sayings and Superstitions and he continues to design gardens and lecture widely on a range of gardening topics.