Cottage style gardens have so much beauty. From the whimsical feel of the informal design, to the variety of florals. The cottage style garden is an outdoor feature filled with grace and charm. Give yourself the joy of creating a cottage garden, and watch it grow and bloom for years to come.
What is a cottage style garden?
A cottage garden is not a formal garden that sticks with elegant designs or rigid layouts. The cottage garden traditionally is packed full of an abundance of different flowers, foliage, greens and even trinkets (if desired). This garden allows for freedoms in design and creativity, with bursts of color. You can see this idea in my Small Backyard Cottage Garden video tour here!
Where did the cottage garden originate?
This style of garden originated in England in the late 1800’s. The original idea for the garden was as a food source of herbs, fruits and vegetables. A shift in the garden’s role happened a bit later on. The cottage garden became an aesthetically pleasing place where flowers can share their glory along with the herbs and produce.
Where to begin?
To begin with, you do not need to live in a quaint cottage surrounded by rolling grassy hills. The cottage garden can be created where you live, with the space you have. The key to designing the garden is to incorporate flowers, herbs and vegetables that you enjoy in a thought out space. This will give your garden a casual and charming feel. There is room for those random flowers that pop up here and there or the ground cover that escapes your borders. You can even create this feel with potted flowers and herbs!
A basic plan, even for an “informal” garden is still important. For the cottage garden however, have an idea of where the plants need to be in order to achieve the best growth. Ask some of these questions when plotting out your cottage garden.
- Will certain plants need more sunlight than others?
- How tall will these plants get in comparison to my other plants?
- Where is my house in correlation to my garden?
- What trees and shrubs do I incorporate to my garden?
After these questions have been answered, it’s time to design.
Designing a cottage style garden
The cottage garden does not have rigid square lines with well manicured boarders. Think curved edges when designing. Boarders with rounded edges built of rock or stone and pathways that meander peacefully through the garden are just some ideas for the design element. A few other features that I encourage in cottage gardens include:
- trellises
- Arbors (great for climbing plants)
- benches or cafe chairs
- bird baths and feeders
- gates
- picket fences
What plants to use?
When thinking of the plants to use for your cottage garden consider what is locally grown and what you enjoy. I, for instance am not a huge fan of orange in my garden. Orange poppies would not be a flower for me to choose. Here are several flowers & herbs that are traditionally in the modern cottage garden that I would recommend and that grow well in my area (zone 4b South Dakota).
- roses (climbing and bush type)
- echinacea (herb)
- russian sage
- bee balm (herb)
- lambs ear
- honeysuckle
- liatris
- daisy
- phlox
- delphinium
- bellflowers
- clematis
- catmint (herb)
- chives (herb)
- sedum (ground cover)
- sage (herb)
One thing to note and that is very important in a cottage style garden is to put the plants close together. This garden tends to be very full with little space for weeds to pop through ( just to clarify, weeding does still happen).
How to create a cottage garden frugally?
A cottage garden can be created with very minimal expense. Neighbors and friends are often willing to share cuttings or propagated plants to any fellow garden lover. Rocks, stones, bricks, etc can be found on city wide clean up days, at junk sites, or in farmers fields. Most likely you will find these items to be free game to add to your aesthetic. Additional pieces such as fences, arbors and benches, can be found thrifted or collected over time. If you are fortunate enough, some of these pieces can also be handed down from grandparents or other relatives.
Why I love the cottage garden!
This type of garden is beautiful and full of color! It is lower maintenace due to the closely planted flowers and herbs, blocking out weeds that could potentially be invasive. The layout and design are more carefree and less rigid in structure. The cottage garden also is affordable to create and can be added to and adjusted as time goes.
My cottage garden is a place I enjoy leisurely walking through, a place for picking flowers to create beautiful arrangements and a place to share with others. It is a timeless garden that is full of God’s beautiful creation.
Hope you find some inspiration and can create a cottage garden of your own!
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