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British cottage gardens


10 Ideas to Steal from English Cottage Gardens

The best cottage gardens look like they planted themselves. They didn’t, of course. But the design principles they follow are simple.

The English invented the cottage garden, probably in the 1400s when even the humblest plots of land were pressed into service to produce food for families. Every inch of earth counted—with herbs, fruit trees, and flowers (which attracted bees to pollinate crops) jammed close together. Aside from being practical, the effect was charming.

Today’s modern cottage gardens look just as lovely—a spill of color as edible and ornamental plants mingle and flop over the edge of a walkway. Roses engulf a trellis. Hollyhocks lean casually against a brick wall. Here are 10 ideas to steal from English cottage gardens.

Crash Course: Gertrude Jekyll 101

Above: From David Austin, Rosa ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ (Ausboard) starts at $29 ; here is it planted alongside Epilobium and Geranium ‘Brookside’. Photograph courtesy of David Austin Roses.English gardener Gertrude Jekyll (1843–1932) is the patron saint of modern cottage gardens, having popularized the informal, blowsy herbaceous borders we associate with country houses (in England) and picket fences (in the US).

In reaction to the fussy, formal plantings the Victorians championed, she advocated a more natural look, with plants arranged by color, height, and flowering season. For more of Jekyll’s ideas and advice, see Gertrude Jekyll and the Country House Garden ($88.79 from Amazon; prices vary based on availability).

Breach Boundaries

Above: William Robinson, a Victorian iconoclast who invented the idea of the “wild garden,” developed his naturalistic approach at Gravetye Manor. For more, see The Ultimate UK Getaway: An Hour from London and a World Away. Photograph courtesy of Gravetye Manor.

To create the quintessential cottage garden, plant flowers at the edge of garden beds and allow them to spill over onto paths. Bonus points for fragrant flowers that brush against visitors’ ankles as they pass by.

Add Arbors

Above: Photograph by Justine Hand. For more, see 10 Easy Pieces: Perennials for a Seaside Garden.

Install sturdy arbors and trellises so you can train vines and climbers (particularly fragrant roses) to grow into billowy shapes against walls, next to gates, and above doorways.

Bench Logic

Above: Remodelista cofounder Sarah Lonsdale’s sister installed a bench to make it easier to regard the garden at eye level. For more of her English cottage garden, see Ruth’s Garden: Playing Wildflower Roulette. Photograph by Sarah Lonsdale.

Place benches, chairs, and chaises strategically in the garden to lure visitors to spend time sitting among the bees and the blossoms. Consider adding seats to a hidden corner, a knoll with a view, or smack in the middle of an especially pretty flower bed (provide stepping stones to guide the way).

Consider Climate

Above: Hollyhocks grow against a wall in a cottage garden in Germany. For more of this garden, see Garden Visit: At Home with Katrin Scharl in Brandenburg, Germany. Photograph by Justine Hand.

In the earliest English cottage gardens, there was no room for error. Tried-and-tested plants known to thrive locally were favored because they produced the best crops. In England—or a similar climate—common cottage garden flowers include hollyhock (shown), nicotiana, poppy, foxglove, nasturtium, and cosmos. If you live in a different sort of climate, you can plant native wildflowers to get a similar effect.

Punctuation Marks

Above:  For more, see Dream Landscapes: 10 Perennial Garden Designs Inspired by Piet Oudolf. Photograph by Sophia Moreno-Bunge for Gardenista

Plant shrubs and small trees among the flowers to add height, structure, and visual interest to garden beds.

Lure Pollinators

Above: If you have fruit trees, berry bushes, or vegetables, you need pollinators to produce a harvest. When planting flowers, choose varieties bees can’t resist: lavender, yarrow, black-eyed Susans, and asters are good choices. For more ideas, see Helping Bees Survive, One Garden at a Time. Photograph by Jim Powell for Gardenista.

Plant a Little of a Lot

Above: Photograph by Clare Coulson for Gardenista. For more, see Garden Visit: Colorful Flower Borders in an English Garden, Tattenhall Edition.

Cottage gardens often are a dense mix-and-match jumble for a practical reason: If you have small clumps of many kinds of plants, you will limit loss to pests and diseases.

Informal Design

Above: Photograph by Clare Coulson for Gardenista.

Lay out irregularly shaped garden beds and allow paths to define perimeters and spaces in the garden. A meandering walkway is better than a straight one because it will force passersby to slow down and see more of the cottage garden.

Experiment

Above: A pairing of Echinacea Purpurea ‘White Swan’ ($11.95 apiece from White Flower Farm) and Stipa Tenuissima in my own garden.Don’t be afraid to mix old-fashioned flowers with other varieties—depending on your climate, your cottage garden could have succulents, jasmine, or perennial grasses growing in it. For more, see Leaves of Grass: 9 Ways to Create Curb Appeal with Perennial Grasses.

Are you designing a cottage garden? See some of our favorite flowers for cottage gardens in our curated guides to Perennials 101, including Hollyhocks, Coral Bells, Spurge, Foxgloves, and Lamb’s Ear. For more English gardens, see:

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Roses$29.00 USD from David Austin Roses

Judith B. Tankard$88.63 USD from Amazon

Grasses$8.79 USD from High Country Gardens

Echinacea$14.00 USD from White Flower Farm

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Great English cottage gardens to visit

These English cottage gardens are the perfect place to while away an afternoon in summer. Visit one of our favourite English cottage gardens this summer.

By Greg Loades

27th June 2017

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Hardy’s Cottage Photo: National Trust Images/Robert Morris

These great English cottage gardens are the perfect place to while away an afternoon in the height of summer. Full of old-fashioned charm, colour, scent and history, they are for some the epitome of what an English garden should be. Visit one of our favourite English cottage gardens this summer.

Great English Cottage Gardens

Photo: Barnsdale Gardens

Barnsdale Gardens  

Much-missed TV gardener Geoff Hamilton created two demonstration plots for his 1995 BBC TV series Geoff Hamilton’s Cottage Gardens. Both the Gentleman’s and Artisan’s gardens remain at Barnsdale, in Rutland. Geoff’s son Nick is president of the Cottage Garden Society. barnsdalegardens.co.uk

Hidcote Manor Garden Photo: Shutterstock

Hidcote Manor Gardens

Intriguingly split into ‘rooms’ by a series of hedges, this garden in Gloucestershire was originally inspired by the work of Gertrude Jekyll and is set within the grounds of a delightful 17th century manor house. www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Anne Hathaway’s Cottage Photo: Megan Taylor

Anne Hathaway’s Cottage

In Stratford, this chocolate-box thatched cottage, once home to Anne Hathaway, is fronted by large beds of perennials, which are currently being redeveloped and planted. A productive vegetable patch and wildflower orchard complete the idyllic setting. www.shakespeare.org.uk

Hardy’s Cottage Photo: National Trust Images/Robert Morris

Hardy’s Cottage

When Thomas Hardy was born in 1840, his little thatched cottage in Higher Bockhampton, Dorset, was probably not as bucolic as it is now, but it is hard to imagine a more traditional cottage garden with its perennial-packed flower borders. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hardys-cottage

East Lambrook Manor Garden Photo: Alamy

East Lambrook Manor Garden

Celebrated plantswoman Margery Fish took elements of traditional cottage gardening and added her own touches, creating a relaxed style with a hint of something more contemporary. Paths wind through abundant borders in this Somerset garden that has been restored since the early 2000s. eastlambrook.com

 

Bluebell Cottage Gardens Photo: The Garden
Collection/FP/Ellen Rooney

Bluebell Cottage Gardens

Wide borders of stalwart cottage garden plants such as heleniums, salvias and Sidalcea, a wildflower meadow and a bluebell wood feature in this Cheshire garden, where you’ll also find a nursery specialising in flowering perennial plants, with more than 700 varieties in stock. bluebellcottage.co.uk

Extracted from a feature in The English Garden magazine by Sandra Lawrence to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the Cottage Garden Society.

For our Top 10 cottage garden plants click here.

English style cottage garden - 9 principles of creation

English gardens are rightfully considered one of the best examples of design art. What is their attractiveness, and why every year more and more gardeners prefer this particular type of garden?

English cottage garden - a special trend in landscape design. Each of them is imbued with a special idyllic atmosphere and is characterized by unpretentious care and external grooming, behind which attention to detail is hidden. It is being in the relaxed atmosphere of such gardens that you can relax and unwind, enjoying peace. How to organize such a wonderful garden yourself? nine0003

Signs of a cottage garden

The main distinguishing feature of an English cottage garden is ease of design combined with a clear structure . These gardens are dominated by natural plants and colors , and garden paths lead directly to flower-lined lawns . The front part is crowned with an arch, and behind it opens an orchard and a "wild" landscape, which almost does not need to be looked after. nine0003

In the cottage garden you can find homemade furniture, small gazebos and sculptures. Although the cottage garden does not need frequent maintenance, it will take a lot of time to create it, planting plants, making garden decorations and exterior items. You should find such a harmonious combination that will allow you to form a single concept that creates home comfort in an open space. To do this, you need to follow some general principles of its formation.

1. Unearthly charm

Your garden should become such a "decoration" that cannot be passed by indifferently. He invites you to enter, take a walk and linger for a while in his green "embraces". The cottage garden gives the impression of incredible abundance. Arches and gates are decorated with vines. Arbors twined with roses. The flower beds are overflowing with bright flowers and greenery. Delphiniums, mallows, irises, hydrangeas, catnip and carnations - all these flowers can become part of your future garden. In fact, your character and personality should be reflected in such a garden. And all this must be done in a limited space. nine0003

2. Multi-colored flower beds

The main composition of any garden is a bright flower bed of perennials. Choose different plants to create a whimsical combination of many shades and shapes. Combine spring, summer and autumn flowers. The most preferred for the middle lane are begonias, delphiniums, dahlias, carnations, lilies, hydrangeas, petunias, daisies, cornflowers, peonies and other plants.

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3. "Organized" chaos

The first cottage gardens were really created "in haste", their owners wanted to equip the occupied areas as quickly as possible. But later, in such a careless naturalness and eclecticism, it was possible to see a special attraction. This is how the concept of "controlled" chaos arose, which formed the basis for the creation of new gardens.

4. Fences and gates

Historically, cattle were kept in cottage settlements, so each house was surrounded by a palisade, and the garden was separated from the street. Fences and gates were made from familiar and affordable materials - boards, logs, curved willow, etc. Although now large animals are not usually kept in the English suburbs, the tradition has remained. nine0003

5. Support for plants

Given that the English cottage garden is dominated by tall and climbing plants, it is necessary to provide them with the opportunity to cling to and lean on appropriate structures. Tapestries, arches and pergolas are a mandatory minimum that must be present on the site. They form a natural green background and, "starting" from it, you can plant the rest of the plants. To create an English cottage garden, hedges and various types of dwarf trees are quite suitable. nine0003

6. Recreation areas

Even a small area looks bigger if it is divided into several recreation areas. Formal zoning can be organized using walkways and patios or gazebos. If you plan the route correctly, you can arrange it so that a walk in your garden resembles an exciting tour. It will have everything: arbors dressed in a vine, and flower arrangements, and benches hidden in secluded corners, and those surprises that you yourself decide to arrange for guests. nine0003

7. The main flowers of the garden

Although the garden should be varied, still give preference to 1-2 types of plants that will become the basis of your garden. Roses, phlox and echinacea are what usually come to mind for cottage gardeners. But you should choose the most common and unpretentious plants that are characteristic of your region. It is also desirable that they bloom and retain their original appearance for as long as possible. Conifers are considered the most unpretentious, which can always be supplemented with peonies, columbine and geraniums. Closer to paths or observation platforms, plant low plants, and behind them - taller ones. nine0003

8. Do not forget about edible crops

Perhaps the main conflict of the modern gardener is the imbalance between the desire to grow something beautiful and something edible. Flowers, greens, and vegetables need plenty of sun, but in a traditional garden, these crops are not usually planted in one place. In an English cottage garden, dill sits happily alongside cloves, and chard looks favorably against daylilies. The ideal option, combining food for body and soul, is considered to be beans grown under “wigwams” knocked together from boards, which it can freely wrap around.

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