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English cottage garden design


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If you are looking for cottage garden ideas to create a charming, characterful plot, then start with your own vision of what the space could be. Is it tumbling climbers creeping up walls, romantic drifts of softly colored perennials, or vintage containers bursting with perfumed flowers and home-grown crops?

More so than in any other garden ideas, cottage garden ideas are guided by nature. Full of self-seeding plants, tumbling blooms and rambling vines, a cottage garden is more an act of editing rather than planting.

'The cottage garden approach is ‘slow gardening’, allowing self-seeding to establish, curating the plant display and relying on plants that might be found on country roadsides like foxgloves and ferns to self-colonise. It’s really the opposite of planting in that you either leave a plant in that’s found its own way to you or you take it out,' says Claire Masset, author of Cottage Gardens .  

Cottage garden ideas – to inspire your scheme

Cottage garden plants are the main event when it comes to cottage garden ideas blending abundant blooms in a random way that mixes up color and form. Roses, lavender and tall spires of lupins, foxgloves and hollyhocks are the stars of the show. This style of planting softens the look of a garden, and brings you up close with scent, foliage textures and a tapestry of soothing garden color schemes.

'As a concept, a cottage garden is hard to define, but you know it when you see it. Cozy, snug, informal, profuse, the cottage garden looks entirely at home in its surroundings, as though it has slowly evolved over time – and often it has,' adds Clare.

If you want to channel your inner Gertrude Jekyll and go big on cottage garden ideas, the trick is to create an intimate space packed with color and scent, with dense planting spilling over pathways and framing windows and doors to create a serendipitous vibe. 

1. Get rid of the grass

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Cottage gardens provide the backbone to both cottage backyard ideas and front yard cottage ideas. In a traditional cottage garden there is no room for a lawn. Growing space is at a premium and every inch should be planted, whether that's with pretty flower bed ideas, delicious fruit or crops or scented herbs. 

‘Typically the cottage garden surrounds a quaint home adorned in scented roses and climbers, is a confined space with no lawn, and intersected with paths,’ says garden expert Leigh Clapp. Pathways provide access and structure to the space while rich planting in the garden provides abundant interest and character. 

2. Let you planting cover all the soil

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Exposed soil is a clear marker of a curated garden which stands in opposition to the freer cottage style. In order to avoid this, incorporate creeping and trailing ground cover plants into your scheme. Creeping thyme, wall germander and snow in summer are beautiful examples. Add rocks and boulders around which the plants can snake and climb to further the naturalistic edge and introduce a new texture. Don't forget to also add height to your borders, the best flowering climbers and the best flowering shrubs will ensure that there is balance to your scheme.

3. Frame your trees with blooms

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Underplanting your trees with seasonal blooms is a great way to add interest to an otherwise uninspiring part of your garden. There are many different approaches to landscaping around trees, but bulbs are one of the easiest options. Here, vibrant red tulips interspersed with naturalized grape hyacinths and dots of yellow tulips and daffodils make a painterly palette in this otherwise dead space. 

The beauty of bulbs is that they are perfect for any size of garden, will divide and naturalise over time and also require minimal maintenance. Plant a mix of the best summer bulbs and the best spring bulbs to ensure a continuous display throughout the warmer months.

'The cottage garden style can be adapted to any garden, whether rural or not, small or large. Best of all, it allows for great amounts of self-expression; there are very few rules other than a profusion of plants, a love of flowers and a distinct lack of grandiosity,' adds Clare.

4. Add screening to your cottage garden

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Of course, planting pretty blooms is the first part of learning how to plant a cottage garden border, however, hard landscaping is also very important in creating an aesthetically pleasing space. 

In addition to providing valuable privacy, garden screening ideas will help you to zone your garden and divide the planting into specific spaces. When looking for screens to use in your cottage garden ideas, opt for a natural material such as wood to help it blend in. Alternatively, opt for an artfully aged decorative metal design for a bold statement that will add interest all year round.

5. Make your own cottage garden rules

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Rooted in the romance of quintessential English garden ideas, cottage garden ideas are a firm favorite and can be found alongside a wide range of house styles. No two cottage gardens are the same – your cottage garden ideas will be a reflection of your own tastes as well as drawing ideas from the exterior design of your home. 

‘There is no typical cottage garden – and that’s one of the joys of cottage gardening,’ says Margaret Hensel, author of English Cottage Gardening for American Gardeners . ‘Cottage gardens are individual, personal expressions. I have visited hundreds of gardens in both the UK and the US, and that is one of the points. They are the children of a gardener’s imagination and the many different sites, houses and cottages.’

Today, cottage gardening is more of an ethos than a set of rules to be followed. It's about embracing nature's beauty and intricacies, rather than forcing it to conform. Rambling, rather than rigid. Imperfectly charming, rather than perfectly chic.

While certain established cottage garden ideas will help you to get the overall look and feel, you should embrace the freedom to create a scheme that is truly unique to you and your home.

6. Pick the right flowers

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According to garden designer Tracy Foster MSGD, historically, as well as being pretty to look at, the plants in a cottage garden earned their place by being easy to grow, useful, edible or a mixture of all three. When deciding on your planting schemes, take inspiration from kitchen garden ideas as well as companion planting ideas to help you combine the best mix of blooms and crops.

It’s the versatility of the cottage garden style which appeals too. Tracy suggests that ‘the resulting symphony of shape, texture, colour and scent in a seemingly unstructured layout can bring bucolic charm to any plot, even in the heart of a city.’

For a truly authentic cottage look there will be a variety of different shapes and forms in the border. Landscape and garden designer Ana Mari Bull MSGD recommends using history as a guide, ‘where possible look at modern cultivar equivalents of the plants which would have originally grown in a Victorian cottage garden. Roses are the obvious choice but they must be scented.’

Tracy Foster adds height with hollyhocks, delphiniums and foxgloves. For other flower shapes try the flat panicles of achillea, ball shaped inflorescences of globe thistle (Echinops ritro) or cheerful daisy flowers of leucanthemum or rudbeckia.

7. Install raised beds to create a sense of order amongst chaos

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As has already been said, the beauty of cottage garden ideas is that there are no rules. Therefore, you don't necessarily have to embrace the floral free-for-all of traditional cottage style. There are plenty of raised bed ideas that will help to bring order to your space, while still letting you indulge in the vibrant and chaotic planting of your cottage garden ideas. Confining plants to the boxes not only makes your garden easier to navigate and tend, but also makes it easier to combine plants and crops together in one place – as you would when planning a kitchen garden.  

8. Add vertical interest with climbing plants

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If you’re looking for cottage garden ideas that will create the most impact, then start with the best climbing plants. There are so many varieties that can be grown upwards, and so many benefits to adding them – from covering an unsightly wall to filling the air with fragrance.

‘For millennia we have used climbing plants to green a surface or espaliered fruit against a warm wall. Arbours, arches, tunnels, trellises and pergolas can become lovely focal points adorned in profusely flowering roses entwined with clematis for example,’ says gardening expert and writer Leigh Clapp.

Roses are a classic option – consider a rambling rose, such as the repeat-flowering Phylis Bide from David Austin , which will grow more quickly than a standard climber and cover a larger surface area. If you are thinking about adding roses to your cottage garden ideas, be sure you know how to plant roses and how to prune climbing roses for maximum flowers.

‘Another easy way to include vertical interest is to add some hanging baskets or containers on windowsills, balconies, along walls or displayed on stately plinths or a theatre stand,’ adds Clapp. 

9. Grow plants overhead for instant drama

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As well as growing upwards, explore the possibilities of growing plants overhead in a cottage garden, for a truly immersive experience.

Pergola ideas is ideal for this purpose and can also create a private shaded, sheltered area to escape the midday sun.

If you know how to grow wisteria, then it's the obvious choice, with its twisted branches and glorious drapes of purple flowers; but roses, clematis, honeysuckle and jasmine are all good cottage garden plants to provide overhead interest.

10. Go for a pink and mauve color palette

Verbena bonariensis in a mass of jewel-toned colours

(Image credit: Jonathan Buckley/Sarah Raven)

Choose the right color scheme for your cottage garden look and you’re halfway there. A muted palette of soft pinks and mauves (perhaps with a dash of purple to add some drama) always works, especially if you keep things simple and stick to it. 

Add in some touches of vintage cream and set the whole thing against a neutral backdrop of green and the result will be positively painterly. As you get more confident mix in some pale greys, washed out blues and silvery foliage to add depth and complexity that will segue beautifully with your look. 

Where to start? With drifts of heavenly mauve lavender and ruffled old-fashioned pink roses (of course), as well as jewel-toned purple and magenta Verbena bonariensis like these beauties.

11. Plant a wildflower meadow in your cottage garden

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One of the most romantic cottage garden ideas, adding wildflower garden ideas to your borders creates a sense of areas being reclaimed by nature, and, as they will be packed with plants for pollinators, is a wonderful way to attract these precious insects to your plot.

‘Meadows can be a glorious addition to the garden, whether purely wildflowers or enhanced with other species. They make a harmonious medley, attractive to us and also to a host of wildlife,’ says Clapp.

A meadow area doesn’t have to be big – you can sow seed in neglected corners or even large containers, as long as the area gets good sunlight. Classic seed mixes can include ox-eye daisies, marigolds, teasel, chamomile, foxgloves and poppies, but you can also include ever-popular cosmos and ammi majus.

‘Once established, meadows are quite low maintenance, needing cutting down after flowering and cuttings removed so they don’t increase fertility,’ says Clapp. ‘Annual meadows will need some repeated sowings; others will improve over time with many plants self-seeding to reinforce the natural effect. As your perennial meadow matures, add in some new plants for a longer season of interest, such as spring and summer bulbs.’

If you are hoping to introduce a wildlflower meadow to your cottage garden ideas, it is essential that you know how to plant a wildflower meadow to ensure you achieve a thriving tapestry of blooms.  

12. Use paths and steps to zone areas

(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)

In times past, cottage gardens didn't have large, pristine lawns, but were intersected by winding paths giving access to different areas.

While today there is no reason why you can’t embrace a luscious lawned area, consider how effective a meandering pathway would look to help your eye – and feet – travel through your cottage garden ideas.

'Paths are important as visual relief, give a sense of discovery on your journey and allow access,' says Clapp. 'Use materials in keeping with the look, such as weathered bricks, flagstone, wood chips, gravel or stepping-stones, for paths and paving.'

Steps are also a wonderful way to embrace different levels in a cottage garden, and make a lovely spot to add potted plants. 

The trick is not to cut a straight line through the garden – keep it winding; seemingly random. Even though it takes careful consideration to plan the perfect route, you want it to appear effortless.

13. Blur the boundaries

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This is so easy to achieve. Pick plants that will flop over paths, tumble from arbors and pergolas, and scramble over walls and fences. This softens the hard landscaping so it fades into the background rather than being the dominant force as is often the case with more contemporary gardens. 

It’s time to let nature takes its course too. Put away those secateurs and let your plants go on a rampage. Get a hazy effect with lady’s mantle (AKA Alchemilla mollis, used to edge the path here). 

The soft lacy flowers form scalloped edging. And you can’t beat airy cow parsley to blend in hard boundaries. It’s like looking through a filtered lens to enhance things.

14. Fill your cottage garden with containers

(Image credit: Ali Allen/Jacquie Melville/Nassima Rothaker)

Container garden ideas provide the perfect way to punctate hard landscaping in your cottage ideas. They also offer wealth of other benefits too.  

It is easy to control the soil mix – growing acid-loving plants, for example, when your have alkaline soil. 

You can also plant earlier, as when the soil is too cold to grow in early spring, containers filled with snowdrops, anemones or bergenias can absorb the warmth of the sun from their higher ground. You can also use your containers to reflect the changes in the seasons, for example there are plenty of fall planter ideas that will help bridge the gap between high summer and your winter garden ideas.

If your garden is small or largely paved over, containers also work wonders to add cottage garden color and interest to your cottage patio ideas.

‘The choice of container material is endless,' says Isabel Palmer, founder of The Balcony Gardener . 'Large-scale planters, such as dolly tubs, add maximum impact, while containers made from natural materials complement plants well – wicker planters create natural looking displays reminiscent of a cottage garden.

"‘Thriller, filler, spiller,’ is a useful phrase to bear in mind when choosing plants for the container. Select a strong statement variety to act as a focal point, and then complement it with filler plants – mixing upright choices at the back with compact ones arranged in the middle. Then add in spiller plants that will trail over the container sides.’

15. Bring in the bees

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There are plenty of plants for pollinators but not all of these are flowers that attract bees. Ana Mari Bull avoids plants which are wind-pollinated as they don’t need the help of insects. She advises that double flowers, though attractive in a cottage border, should be avoided as bees can’t get into the plants and many are sterile.

For summer Ana likes geranium ‘Rozanne’ for small gardens and lavender for low hedging to edge a path. But late winter and early spring supplies of pollen are important. She says ‘Hellebores, cyclamen, primroses, crocus, lamium, galanthus, eranthis and winter flowering clematis with be a food source for early emerging bumble bees, who can fly at lower temperatures than other bees.

‘Borage flowers refill their nectaries every couple of minutes so are perfect for bees and other pollinators. The flowers can be added to Pimms too,’ concludes Ana Mari Bull.

16. Introduce fragrant plants

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The scent of lavender and the soothing buzz of bees hovering around it on a summer’s day are a traditional but timeless feature of the cottage garden. 

Plant lavender near a path or doorway so you can brush your fingers through the scented leaves as you pass by. 

A heavenly fragranced rose scrambling over an arbour will envelop you as you wander underneath, while a twiggy wigwam of sweet peas will drench the air with their old-fashioned scent. 

Other favorites for packing perfume into borders include frilly garden pinks and sweetly honeyed phlox, while a perfumed lilac bush always works well and is a butterfly magnet too.

17. Grow your own plants in a greenhouse

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There is no better way to get closer to your plants than by growing them from seed, and so one of the best cottage garden ideas is to include a greenhouse or glasshouse.  

‘Glasshouses are intrinsically linked to a romantic, comforting notion of Englishness,’ says Martin Toogood, chairman of Hartley Botanic , which creates luxury glasshouses for both the US and European markets. 

As we approach summer, greenhouse ideas can take on a multifunctional purpose in a cottage garden, used as more than just a growing space, but somewhere to enjoy spending time, immersed among the plants. ‘We see customers introducing relaxation, dining and lifestyle elements into their greenhouse, and we expect this trend to grow, particularly this summer as we come back together post lockdown,’ adds Toogood.

Some of the best cottage garden plants are annuals or short-lived perennials, so you will be able to nurture beautiful plants in your own growing space.

Plantswoman Sarah Raven has a particular love for traditional cottage garden plants. One of her favourites that can be easily grown from seed, is foxgloves: ‘They make some of the very best cottage garden early summer garden plants and cut flowers,' she says. 'If you pick the king flower – the main spire, you create lots of prince flowers and the plants will then go on flowering for longer.'

18. Pick flouncy cabbage roses

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With their big, blowsy blooms and glorious scent, old-fashioned roses add a dusting of magic to the cottage garden. Available in a range of opulent colors, their silky ruffled petals pack an old-style glamour punch. They are the ideal flowers for creating a sense of romance in your cottage garden too. 

Opt for something like this ‘Enchrantress’, a stunning double pink ruffled rose with densely packed velvety petals that gets a top rating scent wise and is also what’s known as a ‘repeat flowerer’. 

Remember to keep snipping off any faded blooms and you'll be rewarded with a second flush. It has a good vase life too, and looks gorgeous paired with lilac.

19. Add a secluded spot to sit 

(Image credit: Kasia Fiszer)

Don’t forget to plan seating areas in your cottage garden. Positioning a bench in a secluded spot – beneath a tree with low branches, or an arch covered with roses or wisteria – will immerse you in the sights and scents of your garden, and enable you to take in the view.

Think carefully about where you place your seating, so that you can get the best vista to appreciate all your hard work. Choose a spot that isn’t overlooked by neighbors and offers some shade from the glare of high summer sun.

20. Plant around a focal point

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Adding a few key focal points or yard art ideas to your cottage garden is important to help draw the eye, and create a gentle sense of purpose and structure, without overlapping into formality.

A bird bath surrounded by borders, a trickling water feature, a colorful container display, or a romantic rose arch – all these cottage garden ideas will help you to appreciate the wider scheme you have created.

21. Make a vintage display

(Image credit: Pippa Blenkinsop / Kasia Fiszer)

Vintage pieces add rustic charm and a sense of history to a cottage garden. Consider how fleamarket finds can be repurposed as planters, and use them together to make a striking display. Timeworn metallic containers work particularly well as a foil for bright spring flowers.

Also keen an eye out for whimsical signs, outdoor furniture and cast iron items that could be used to display plants on.

22. Get the picket fence look

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Traditional white picket fences are the signature look for a cottage garden. Also known as palisade fencing, back in the day they were the obvious choice as they were simple to construct on site with standard pieces of timber. 

The fence was often painted white to improve longevity and it’s this iconic look that we've grown to love. Now there are new long-lasting products on the market to achieve the same look with modern materials that don’t require upkeep. Once they're in position all you need to do is plant a mass of blooms that will peek over and through the panels.

23.

Make doorways pretty

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Set the scene by framing doors and windows, both front and back, with pretty collections of flowers and foliage in a restrained color palette that fits with the exterior scheme of your house. 

Add perfumed plants to the mix too. As you walk up your path one of the most welcoming sensations on arriving home is being hit by a delicious waft of fragrance so a pair of planters (we love these terracotta chimney pots – what could be more cottage garden?) with lavender will give your entrance the standout factor. 

Combining with inviting cottage porch ideas helps to create the right mood and lets you show off your passion for plants too. Tap into cottage vernacular by choosing classics like lupins and perennial cornflowers, then let them romp around in a naturalistic way.

 

24. Escape to nature with dreamy lilac

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The most magical of plants, lilac is one of the cottage garden shrubs of old that’s rightly having a comeback. A longtime favourite of cottage planting schemes, where it was once considered the height of fashion, it grows easily and the showy cones of blossom come in a range of pretty shades as well as signature soft mauve. 

Some of the oldest varieties are known as French Lilacs. The lush double flowers of ‘Mme Lemoine’ are pure white and the heady perfume is incomparable so it easily earns its place in the cottage garden. 

Lilac can be grown as a tree, a shrub or in a pot according to variety, and adds a pleasing shape to the structure of your planting.

25. Plant in romantic drifts

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This is a signature look for cottage gardens, where swathes of naturalistic planting is used to create a loose and unstructured effect. It’s easy to do too. Just remember you’ll need three, five or seven lots of each plant, then arrange them in repeat groups for impact. 

One of the most distinctive cottage garden plants with their tall spires of speckled bells, foxgloves are a natural choice for this look. Drift planting works best when it creates a gentle wash of color, so foxgloves are perfect for the job as they come in a range of dusky pink, soft apricot and misty mauve shades. 

Add punctuation marks to the structure of the planting scheme with pompom plants like agapanthus or alliums, also planted in repeat patterns. 

26. Add stunners to fill borders

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Choose dramatic spikes with striking vertical lines and big showy plants with larger than life leaves to add show stopper moments to a cottage planting scheme. If you want drama in your borders opt for statement plants like these. 

For attention seeking towering spires go for showy lupins, delphiniums and foxgloves as they will always catch the eye. A few vertical notes from plants like this will lift a run of the mill border and turn it into something special. 

The huge, silvery, thistle-like leaves of towering cardoons make it a stunning addition to the back of a border. Just perfect for some leafy seclusion in your favourite relaxation spot.

27. Choose a cottage garden classic

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Adding fragrance, color and height, traditional sweetpeas would have to be your first option if you could only choose one plant. Once you know how to grow sweetpeas, they will quickly become an integral part of your cottage garden ideas.

Give them a wigwam of hazel branches to scramble up and over and sweet peas will be off, their tendrils winding through the twiggy frame to create a sensational summer display. 

'Three Times As Sweet' is new – and the first cultivated modern grandiflora variety, with a ton of that lush, rich and evocative scent that's the signature of these cottage garden classics. 

The tri-color blooms of this variety blend lavender-blue, purple and white to create an eye-catching display that's just the perfect finishing touch to a cottage garden.

28. 'Right plant, right place'

(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)

‘Always think right plant, right place,’ says garden designer Rosemary Coldstream . Your plants have the best start possible being in their ideal soil and sun conditions, so bear this in mind when selecting your plants. From there Rosemary recommends deadheading plants regularly to prolong flowering.

If your border is either heavy or very dry then mulch it with a good quality compost. Looking to the long term if clumps get too big then lift and divide them to grow your space even more and prevent overcrowding.

29. Combine edibles with flowers

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'The traditional cottage garden encapsulates a hand-made, do-it-yourself style of gardening so when it comes to planting include a mix of simple flowers and edible plants,' says Debbie Roberts of Acres Wild .

Herb garden ideas can include 'scented, herbal and healing varieties will by definition be beneficial to butterflies and bees, and when combined with some good structure you will have a chocolate box image of a cottage garden.'

30. Consider function and form

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'A cottage style garden still needs to function in terms of design, so routeways and destinations still need to be considered, somewhere to sit in sun or shade, along with good views to exploit and eyesores to screen, perhaps with a carefully located blossom tree for bees and that will also provide berries for birds later in the season,' continues Debbie Roberts.

'The idea here is to create an ambiance to transport you to a time and place and disguise anything that detracts from this.'

31. Choose the right hard landscaping

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When you are considering backyard landscaping ideas, think: local.

'Locally sourced, natural materials and building techniques ground a garden in its place and would have been what was used in the past. Nearby salvage yards and local stone suppliers would be a good starting point for paving materials and search out local craftspeople for furniture and ornamental additions,' continues Debbie Roberts. 

'For terraces and pathways reclaimed stone is ideal, along with brick, if this chimes in with the locality, and gravel (cinder would often have been used in the past).

'Small ornamental pieces may be salvaged and randomly arranged.'

32. Consider a cottage garden water feature

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Cottage gardens should always include pond ideas.  

'Water might be used to animate the space. A salvaged stone trough with a hand pump for instance wouldn’t look out of place in a cottage garden. If a pond were to be considered in the overall layout it would be appropriate if it were designed to encourage wildlife and so increase the biodiversity of the garden,' concludes Debbie Roberts.

How do you lay out a cottage garden?

When deciding how to layout a cottage garden, the trick is not to overthink it. Cottage gardens are traditionally simple and regular in layout, with a path to the door, and rectangular beds on either side packed with unrestrained planting. 

Hedges and decorative topiary can be used to divide the garden into a series of enclosed spaces with different planting themes. 

The combination of soft and riotous planting with formal clipped hedges and decorative topiary works as a design contrast. 

Choose natural stone, reclaimed brick, setts and cobbles, and other found materials to add structure but blur the edges seamlessly with moss, lichen or creeping plants like scented thyme filling the gaps.  

Gravel pathways and simple picket fences also suit this naturalistic design style. Add twists and turns with curves and wilder planting to introduce elements of surprise, while romantic arbours or arches with blooms scrambling over them frame entrances to other areas.

How do I start a cottage garden from scratch?

To start a cottage garden from scratch, the key is to plant traditional flowers and plant at the right time of year. Garden landscape designer Fi Boyle MSGD explains that there are two key times of year to plant. ‘The first is the early autumn when the soil is still warm and not waterlogged but everything is starting to die back and settle in for the winter.’ 

For Fi, the advantage of planting in the autumn is that the plants settle into warm earth and start to establish their roots before the winter. This means that when spring comes they are ready to get going.

However, if you have missed the autumn window fear not, you can also plant in spring and this does work just as well. You may need to keep a bit more of an eye on your plants as in recent years we have had very dry springs. Fi recommends giving plants a good soaking from time to time while they’re establishing. 

How do I set up a cottage garden on a budget?

You can set up a cottage garden on a budget by growing plants from seed and allowing others to self-seed in your garden. In fact, cottage garden ideas are one of the easiest styles to set up on a budget. The look is unpretentious and informal, and borders and containers can be filled with many plants that you can grow yourself from seed or propagate from cuttings.

Consider arranging a seedling swap with friends, so you can share your home-grown wonders, and make your garden more diverse. Also learn how to take plant cuttings to multiply your collection of plants for no additional cost. 

Scour vintage stores and fleamarkets for old garden furniture, pots and vessels that can be repurposed for the garden – anything from crates to ceramic sinks.

Remember – gardens are not created overnight; they evolve over years. Keep adding to it and, before you know it, you will have created your own dream cottage garden.

What is a cottage garden style?

Cottage garden style is characterised by  dense planting, profusion of color, and mix of different flowers used in pockets of planting with different themes. While many cottage gardens stick to simple patterns, others are more relaxed with paths delineating spaces, although any geometry is blurred by the generous planting.  It’s an informal style that feels ‘undesigned’ and the appeal lies in getting the mix right. You can't beat this style of planting to give your garden the standout factor every time.

Lifestyle journalist Sarah Wilson has been writing about gardens since 2015. She's written for Gardeningetc.com, Livingetc, Homes & Gardens, Easy Gardens and Modern Gardens magazines. Her first job on glossy magazines was at Elle, during which time a visit to the legendary La Colombe d'Or in St-Paul-de-Vence led to an interest in all things gardening. Later as lifestyle editor at Country Homes & Interiors magazine the real pull was the run of captivating country gardens that were featured. 

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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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?

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.

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.

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 colors. The most preferred for the middle lane are begonias, delphiniums, dahlias, carnations, lilies, hydrangeas, petunias, daisies, cornflowers, peonies and other plants.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

9. Decorative elements

It is always nice to find a sundial, a fountain or a birdbath among plant abundance. As decorative elements, you can use plants in tubs or flowerpots. Sometimes climbing cultures themselves create unusual patterns: ivy, vines, climbing roses, etc.

If you decide to create an English cottage garden on the site, then remember that it should become a reflection of your personality. But remember that an outwardly chaotic garden should not turn into a wasteland overgrown with weeds, so you will have to look after and look after your corner of wildlife throughout the year.

10 basic elements of an English garden. English style in landscape design. Photo — Botanichka

The appearance of a traditional English garden with all its pastorality and harmony remains for many today not only a source of inspiration, but also a model of perfection. It is impossible to explain the magic of the English style of landscape design simply by climate or temperament. A unique sense of proportion, the ability to bring nobility even to the simplest flower beds, the art of using contrasts not for bright images, but for comfort and atmosphere, a special attitude to the balance of functionality and aesthetics has always distinguished an exemplary English garden. And today his canons remain unshakable and unique. But not so secret that the English design could not be recreated on your site.

English style garden

In any style of landscape design there are those elements without which a garden project will not succeed. The canons, or basic design principles that define the nature of the garden, are easily recognizable and inimitable, and do not violate even the most daring designers even in modern interpretations. There are especially many such "laws" and "rules" in the English garden. After all, the style of a traditional British garden is distinguished by the same stiffness that English interiors are famous for. True, it is not so easy to capture individual elements in this style: the atmosphere and sensations in an English garden are sometimes more important than specific means of expressing an idea. Let's try to outline 10 basic elements that underlie the English garden.

Strict framework for a colorful show

An English garden is, first of all, a garden with a thoughtful structure. Its main purpose is to create a walking area, such a landscape and a series of objects that you want to walk around endlessly and admire, against the background of which not only the body, but also the soul can rest. The "set" of mandatory zones and objects in such a garden is limited. And it is limited by a fairly strict list of generally accepted techniques that “repel” from home. A large lawn or lawn, a front garden, an arbor or a pavilion, an orchard or orchard with an ornamental vegetable garden, a pond - these are the objects that are present in a traditional English garden. Zones are separated by neat trimmed green hedges or stone walls. Brightly highlighting the main objects, such a garden creates a well-defined framework. And on the remaining territory, a game unfolds with picturesque ensembles, turned into an ideal park for walking, in which amazing harmony reigns.

The space between the structural elements is divided into walking zones and framed with the help of ridges and flower beds, interconnected by lawn, paved paths or soft paths appealing to gravel entrances. Flower beds are most often represented by a series of repeating flowerbeds framed by strict boxwood frames that create a simplified colorful labyrinth. But landscape and colorful borders always dominate in the English garden - one-sided and two-sided mixborders. Wide, unrestrained and so romantic, they are the hallmark of the English garden.

Garden in the English style

Classic and romantic in a square

When the English style is considered to be a landscape trend in landscape design, it is usually a little disingenuous. After all, the English garden really brings the canons of park art closer to nature and its beauties, but it does it regally and so pretentiously that it is difficult to call such a garden a model of naturalness. In the English garden, in addition to those very strict lawns, trimmed fences and architectural elements, the whole space is indeed filled with free, landscape plantings. But they imitate not quite wild nature, as, for example, in a Dutch garden or in the style of a prairie, but a pastoral-fabulous picture, a kind of idyll of flowering nature in all its splendor.

Modest, almost wild plants and thickets, as if the gardener's hand had not touched them - not for an English garden. Here everything should be perfectly colorful. Even the contrast between the leaves of ferns and columbine in the shade or lavender and cuffs on a sunbed. This is a landscape luxury, which is not a sin to send on a postcard or poster of some exhibition. Therefore, keep in mind: the English garden should produce just such an impression - of aristocracy, which, having gone beyond the strict framework, has not lost its selectivity.

A similar approach - ostentatious, idealized selection - should be applied to the selection of plants. Classics from classics - that's what you need in an English garden. If shrubs, then roses or boxwoods, if trees, then catalpas, maples or ornamental apple trees. And from perennial partners, attention should be paid to untouchable, chosen favorites - lavender, catnip, veronica, delphiniums, geyhera, geraniums. Why, even among the bulbs in the English garden, only the classics are welcomed - tulips, daffodils, muscari. Exemplary, with an impeccable reputation, such plants have retained their status as fashionable for more than one century. And by no means boring. They should be recognizable at first sight, have a bright personality - texture, color, size, growth pattern. Nondescript and little-known plants are not suitable for this style: for the style of aristocrats, aristocratic plants are also needed.

Green planes

In an English garden, green always dominates. But not in ancient hedges and deaf yew walls, but above all - in lawns. Without them, it is impossible to imagine any project in this classic style. Carpets fill the space and balance lush, romantic, colorful and such textural flower beds and borders, serve as a "field", a canvas on which the pastoral of a colorful garden unfolds. Without this background, the charm and harmony of the design will be lost forever. If you want to create an English garden, then don't be afraid to use lawns. Create large strict lawns from them, decorate reservoirs with them, “tie” flower beds, form walking areas. In short, create a green backdrop, perfect for admiring magnificent perennials. And remember that not only playgrounds can be called a lawn, but also magnificent grass paths.

English garden

Individual approach to plants

Despite the fact that the English garden is distinguished by that special balance in which it is impossible to single out the main stars in the design, the basis of its success is precisely in a personal approach to each plant and respect for the need to study their features, character and preferences. There are no more or less important plants in any flower garden or rabatka in this style. Here everything exudes harmony and self-sufficiency, even tiny accents will get the attention they need. After all, any subtle art, including the art of decorating a garden, is built primarily on deep knowledge.

And if you are planning to recreate the charm of an English garden in your area, then first of all show respect for the plants used. And rely not on intuition, but on a scientific approach and training. Do not save time: study all the nuances of growing, all the features of specific species. Build schedules, compile catalogs, create entire “cases” for your flower beds and rabatkas. This is a fascinating process that will bring no less pleasure than contemplating your result. So you can always check the information, easily adjust the ensembles if such a need arises, you will always know what to do in unforeseen circumstances. Even cultures you know may surprise you, and their nature and features of agricultural technology are worth studying in detail.

Color balance

Harmony in an English garden reigns not only in structure or materials, but also in color. The ability to achieve balance and then "make" the garden not to lose it at any time of the year is truly unique. At the same time, the principles of constructing the English color scheme are so simple that they seem obvious and almost boring. But only in theory: in practice, achieving color harmony is much more difficult.

When you look at the panoramas of British gardens - famous cottage gardens, park gardens, and palace gardens - you can't help but compare with the paintings of the best classical landscape painters. And it is precisely the skillfully selected colors, which the artist seems to have mixed, that is the main secret of the English garden. It is not characterized by a boring, reserved, contrasting or pastel palette. Only gardens become English, where shades and overflows merge into a single picturesque picture. And where the contrast is based on the play of pure watercolor tones and colors with the unconditionally dominant calm green, for each too bright color there is a soothing counterbalance, for each light shade there is a deeper and more saturated tone. And you need to focus on the most advantageously combined shades of not one color, but neighboring colors in the color wheel.

So, pink is mixed with lilac, yellow with orange, blue with violet - different colors, but they are, nevertheless, especially harmonious and related in character. When choosing plants for an English garden, choose the most traditional and pure tones - if pink, then candy or rich, purple - perfect lilac, purple - cold and sparkling, blue - delicate and dreamy, and yellow - fruity and "juicy". In a word, choose classic and even old-fashioned colors. The purity of design in the English garden is embodied through the purity of colors.

An English-style garden with a pond

Not a relay race of flowering, but a relay race of images

In an English garden, one should strive to create not the effect of a continuous lantern show, but seasonality. You probably happened to admire the photographs of estates and cottages, which in spring seem to be surrounded by meadows of daffodils, and in summer they are adorned with royal roses that dominate the design. The main goal is to change the appearance of the garden from season to season, like a seasonal transformation of interiors. For spring, summer and autumn, a combination of the most beloved cultures is selected, which together create the perfect ensemble. Several plants become the main stars of the season, and with the change of seasons, another group blooms, not repeating either the character or the color palette of the first. Thus, in English gardens, they do not create the effect of constancy, but emphasize respect for nature and its metamorphoses. Yes, and thanks to this technique, it never gets boring: the garden changes images, remaining perfect in English, but always different.

A queen for a retinue of aristocrats

A plant without which an English garden would not work is the magnificent queen of garden shrubs, the rose. It is not by chance that she is called a garden aristocrat, it is the rose that perfectly demonstrates the beauty of plants typical of an English garden in both palace and cottage formats. Of course, in the English style it is worth using English roses - magnificent Austin with their old-fashioned romance, modern hardiness and strong aroma.

Both spray and climbing roses should be added to the look of an English garden. Miniature beauties will create luxurious borders, modern varietal wild roses - flowering hedges, ground cover roses will fill the space and create the effect of fabulous cascades on flower beds and in discounts. Lianas on arches and pergolas will add to the number of vertical accents and become a regal luxurious backdrop for benches and arbors. As for the classic shrub roses, floribunda, tea hybrids and other beauties, they will become the main soloists in flower beds and discounts. And with something, but with roses in the English style, you can not be afraid to overdo it: there are not many roses in an English garden. And it is roses - the real queens of the English garden - that will ideally reveal the beauty of plants selected according to the principle of aristocracy.

Flower garden with roses in an English style garden

Careful selection of height

Lush flower ensembles that fill the strict structure of the English garden give not only the impression of seasonality, pastorality, pastelness, but also unprecedented splendor. All flowering plantings in such a garden should look like flawless, filled with dozens of plants, but at the same time - not too complicated. Lush landscape thickets of flowering beauties are created thanks to the skillful combination of plants in height. So that no free soil is visible under the plants, they must complement each other and hide flaws. The main principle of creating both flower beds and rabatok in the English garden is a strict increase in height from the foreground to the back in one-sided objects and from the sides to the center in two-sided mixborders. Do not think that such a strict selection will be boring: the textures of plants and the difference in the density of crowns and sods fully compensate for the lack of interest in the vertical structure.

Even if you break the rules in an English garden, you should stick to the canons. The only way to deviate from the principle of low to high is to place high accents among short partners or soloists who stand out sharply from the background. Such cultures can be conditionally called “living sculptures”: they really, like a statue on a lawn, rise against a luxurious background and bring even more classical motifs to the compositions. A sheared ball of boxwood or a pyramid of yew, a standard rose seem to hover over the compositions and place architectural accents in them.

Not a garden, not a museum

Another element that no English garden can be without is the skillful selection of accessories. For garden ensembles they are selected with no less taste and care than for the English interior. Each piece of jewelry should be a true work of art and an important detail that emphasizes and sets the mood.

You can't get by in the English style without garden sculpture - classical and somewhat old-fashioned. A simple statue immersed in a rose garden, a small fountain or stone feeder marking the intersection point between flower beds, skillfully shaping a curve in a path, or drawing attention to a far corner of a garden—each example of a large and small garden sculpture should be placed so as to crown the ensemble and give him a new, aesthetic perfection. Do not neglect accessories in the form of properly placed lighting, a skillfully hidden bench, funny characters, animals or household items that have received a new life - for example, an old broken service or a teapot. They can become little touches that fill the garden with English charm. The main thing is not to overdo it and place them in the most visible place.

English style garden

Careful care

An English garden is a landscape surrounded by love. This is a style for those who enjoy even the most ordinary procedures, who have the time and desire to cut roses and mow lawns. And the more regular care and love is invested in such a garden, the more beautiful it becomes.

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