The Berry Cottage Gardener

The Berry cottage gardener

for gardens pretty and productive

The Berry Cottage Gardener provides insight into daily gardening life at Violet Cottage - a garden full of flowers and food

The Berry Cottage Gardener grew from a genuine passion for gardening.  A love of beautiful plants and homegrown produce inspired me to keep a record of my daily gardening life at Violet Cottage.

Through my garden journal I write of the ups and downs of gardening in country NSW. You can learn from my failures, and hopefully also be encouraged by my more successful moments!

If you like, you can also follow me on Instagram, where you’ll find daily updates, including recipes and tips, and be inspired by a thriving online gardening community.

SARAH’S GARDEN JOURNAL

Falling In Love With Autumn

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower" - Albert Camus

Categories: IN THE PRETTY GARDENIN THE PRODUCTIVE GARDEN

Autumn is the perfect time to spend a few hours (or more!) outside before the garden slips into its winter slumber. The following are my five favourite tasks to get stuck into over the next few weeks!

Read More

Berry Berry Good

"Some of the sweetest berries grow among the sharpest thorns" - Gaelic Proverb

Categories: IN THE PRODUCTIVE GARDEN

Berries are one of nature’s superfoods, rich in vitamins and anti-oxidants. Given they are expensive to buy fresh in the supermarket, and the frozen varieties often imported from far afield, why not grow them organically in your own backyard?

Read More

Making Compost While The Sun Shines

"The ground's generosity takes in our compost and grows beauty. Try to be more like the ground" - Rumi

Categories: IN THE PRODUCTIVE GARDEN

All good gardeners know compost provides a wonderful boost to soil. It’s a natural and complete fertilizer, rich in micronutrients to promote healthy plant growth. And it’s so rewarding make your own!

Read More

Growing Fruit And Vegetables From Seed

"A love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies" - Gertrude Jekyll

Categories: IN THE PRODUCTIVE GARDEN

The appeal of growing from seed is many and varied. It’s cheap, challenging and rewarding. And there’s an amazing array of produce to choose from, including heirloom varieties, such as the crookneck pumpkin, or fat bastard asparagus. I don’t fancy your chances of finding these at your local hardware store!

Read More