I don't know.. is there? For one I hate to be boxed into any one's preconceived notion of what a cottage gardener is or any other gardener for that reason.

LOL Is there a 'shrink' in the house? ;-D

Interesting question and I look forward to seeing other's responses. I expect there are many reasons a person is attracted to any style beginning with early gardening experiences and including many other life experiences.

IMO based on my own personality, as well as what I know of other cottage gardeners, many of us are 'collectors' of more than just plants. Most of the cottage gardeners I know are online in various forums as most of the gardeners I know IRL do not garden in this style.

I have lots of collections in my home and my interior decorating style certainly tends to the 'more-is-more' end of the style spectrum. Perhaps there is also a tendency for cottage gardeners to be more casual, to like color and abundance, and perhaps to be spontaneous. At least those are attributes I would *not* necessarily expect of someone who preferred a formal symmetrical garden so may be true of those of us who like a more casual, less rigid garden style. However, human nature and personality are not so easy to qualify. Just from reading on the cottage garden forum here I think there are many different personality types but we must have some similarities to choose this gardening style.

I think what I like about cottage gardening style is that the personality of the gardener really shows thru the garden. Take two gardeners and a bed and you will get very different results.

I have a friend, Dennis, who gardens with lust and vigor. He heavily adds annuals to his gardens and all I can say is his colors are different from mine - they are rather brighter and more colorful and into reds and yellows and mine are more pinks and purples. Even when I have beds with red and orange I put in purple and it changes the impact.

His beds layer back and mind tend to sortof wave over wider areas and are viewable from multiple directions.

I have gone thru passion phases in my gardening saga and in the end I sortof choose what I really love and it endures and merges into the whole. I really am mostly about the overall vista - colors, repetition, texture than the individuals plants now.

That's what I love about gardens - when you walk by a home with flowers abounding I often have the thought pass thru my head "a real gardener lives here". And that gardener has personality and style that emerges.

I don't know about personality, but the last couple days I've felt like my gardens have looked like me - hot and tired. And it's just barely June.

Totally Confused

Very interesting question darknox.

I do think we can see a lot of a gardeners personality reflected in their garden. What else is a garden but a blank canvas??

My garden is totally informal- I dislike formality/rigidity in most things.

My garden is, for the most part, hidden from public view- maybe because I am somewhat shy and like privacy. Hopefully the garden is warm and inviting though, to those I invite to see it.

My garden has a lot of different things in it because I adore trying new things and experimenting with various plants. There are many collections of certain plants because I am just plain strange that way, lol!

The textures of my garden must reflect my deep insight and intelligence....Sorry, couldn't help myself. Only joking on that one, LOL! ;-D

Ps. to Darknox- noticed you joined GW only a few days ago. WELCOME!! I am sure you will come to love the forums as much as I have!
CMK

CMK- LOL!

I think my gardens reflect my interior, which I guess are both a reflection of me :)

I like some formality to the overall structure (more traditional in my tastes and love family collectibles and antiques) but I don't mind a little clutter. I have lots of books and collectibles, but not to the point of overflowing...mostly organized on low book shelves. I am NOT one of those people, who can live happily in a minimalist room, where one thing out of place spoils the whole effect.

I love roses, but the old-fashioned shrub roses and hybrid musks are my favorites. Lilacs and peonies and other "antique" flowers that bloom once are perfectly fine in my garden...reblooming is nice, but mostly I mix up lots of flowers so something is blooming all the time.

Function is also important, so I try to decide how I'm going to use the garden or interior space. Every area should have some place to sit down and enjoy the view...or a cup of tea. I also like to include lots of edibles in the landscape and I like a lot of color, but mainly greens, purples, lavender, pink, blues, white and bolder colors in the vegetable garden...orange and yellow are my favorites in that area.

All spaces must be kid, cat and in some cases, horse friendly. I always have a few toys for the kids (and cats) in the house and I'm putting a hopscotch in the potager and a tic-tac-toe in the fairy garden. Having fun in the garden is always important :)

I'm not sure, but one thing I think most Modern day cottage gardeners have in common is a lack of wanting to be conventional. ;). So of course, we are all a bit different.