Plant an Old-Fashioned Cottage Garden

Have you ever wondered if a cottage garden is right for your property? It just may be.

We’ve all seen pictures of those quaint little cottages with the beautiful rambling gardens and wondered, how they do that? That beautiful “organized chaos” is actually easier that you think. All it takes is some imagination and a little planning to get you on your way.

• Begin by surrounding your garden area with a picket fence or place some accent fences to display climbing roses or vines if a whole fence is not an option.
• Design a walk from your gate to your door. An arched trellis over your gate completes the cottage look. You can have the trellis even if you don’t have the fence. A trained rambling climbing rose is a great architectural accent.

• Make sure your beds are prepared with organic material to help enrich the soil.
• Choose easy-to-grow flowers and plants for your growing zone. English and Heritage roses are always a staple for the cottage garden.
• Plant low-maintenance plants towards the back of your beds so that the ones that need more steady attention are easy to reach and remember up front. You can soften your pathways with low growing plants or flowering ground cover.
• Planting small flowering trees and bushes will add height and texture. Fill in empty spots with bulbs or herbs.
• Remember to deadhead your blooms regularly. Divide your plant selection between perennials and annuals to make replanting easier and spread out over time.

Traditional and Suggested Cottage Garden Plants:

Roses
Shrub Roses
Climbing Roses
Old Garden Roses with lush foliage

Hedging plants
Hawthorn
Elderberry
Laurel
Lilac
Snowberry
Japonica

Fruits & Trees
Apple
Pear
Gooseberries
Raspberries
Crabapple
Hazel
Dogwood

Perennials
Hollyhocks
Carnations
Sweet Williams
Marguerites
Marigolds
Lilies
Peonies
Tulips
Crocus
Daisies
Foxglove
Monkshood
Lavender
Campanulas
Solomon’s seal
Evening Primrose
Lily-of-the-Valley
Cowslips
many varieties of roses

Climbing plants
European Honeysuckle
Clematis hybrids

Flowers
Violets
Pinks
Primroses
Calendula

Herbs
Sage
Thyme
Southernwood
Wormwood
Catmint
Feverfew
Lungwort
Soapwort
Hyssop
Sweet Woodruff
Lavender