Creating a romantic and ethereal English cottage garden is all about embracing a natural, slightly wild aesthetic while maintaining a sense of structure and charm. Join Kelly Orzel as she leads a morning Massachusetts Horticultural Society lecture on the essentials of cottage—aka English—garden design. From how to choose plants, colors, and textures to create romantic, ethereal spaces. The importance of structure and how to achieve that intangible, whimsical sentimentality the cottage garden is known for. Whether looking for a formal space to entertain or an intimate, informal place for your own enjoyment, you’ll learn how to achieve both while keeping that charming, nostalgic quality of a cottage garden.
In addition to the morning lecture, Kelly will be leading an afternoon design workshop for those looking to layout their space. From 12 pm to 1:30/2 pm, students will look at layouts, structural elements, how to balance formal with informal spaces, and more. Working with Kelly participants will map out their current garden/project, those taking the afternoon workshop are asked to bring basic measurements of their current gardens, and any current photos they have. Graph Paper and sketching materials will be provided. The afternoon session has a limited class size.
Kelly Orzel is a small-scale, organic herb farmer, author, and speaker growing in coastal Maine. As a lover of green things from an early age, she worked at a local farm—before she even had her license— and with serious growers throughout college. As an undergrad at Rutgers she won a USDA research grant in Plant Biotechnology. Several years after a stint as an actuarial analyst and high school math teacher, Kelly graduated with her Master of Science in Horticulture from Texas Tech University. Since then, Kelly’s been living the dream of growing organic herbs on her small-scale farm in Cape Elizabeth, Maine for 8 years. She’s done it all: from farmer’s markets and mail-order, to florists, brides, and wholesale. Kelly’s first book, The Backyard Gardener, was published by Lyons Press in 2017 and her freelance work has appeared in national garden magazines, including Hobby Farms as well as local newspapers. $75 – $95. Register at www.masshort.org