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

Agapanthus – Friend or Foe?

"A good garden may have some weeds" - Thomas Fuller

Agapanthus is a very popular landscaping plant in Australia, and it’s easy to see why. It’s tough, ever-green and prolific! But beware, it does have the potential to become invasive.

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Keeping The Faith With Perennials

"In all things it is better to hope than to despair" - von Goethe

I love perennials. To me, they are the epitome of a cottage garden. Seeing these pretty deciduous plants emerge from a bleak Winter reminds me to keep the faith, in the garden and life!

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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

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!

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The Art of Underplanting Trees

"Gardens are not made by sitting in the shade" - English proverb

Trees form an attractive and vital part of any garden. They provide shade, height, beauty and habitat. But for all their virtues, trees do provide gardeners with a few challenges, the most significant being what to underplant. At Violet Cottage, I have three definite favourites!

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