12 Best Plants to Create a Cottage Garden Look
By Naomi Jones
There’s nothing more quintessential and idyllic than a traditional chocolate box cottage garden, and creating one is easier than you might think. Whether you have large borders, a patio or even just balcony, you can get this popular look on a big or small scale by filling all plantable spaces with a great mix of floriferous summer bulb varieties, planting them close and, above all, opting for lots and lots of colour.
Cottage-style plantings are often tightly packed with flowers in borders, containers and hanging baskets. Nectar-rich varieties are a must for attracting bees and butterflies which also heighten the effect. Sunny gardens are well suited to this style of planting, but even if your garden is north facing, enclosed or shady, you can still get this gorgeous floral look by choosing shade-tolerant varieties.
This informally beautiful cottage garden style provides a relaxing place to unwind which is buzzing with wildlife and plenty of feel-good factor. It’s easy to achieve, just be bold and choose flowers of all colours, shapes and sizes.
Here are some of the best plants for cottage garden:
Dahlias
These versatile plants come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and can fit in with any kind of planting scheme. Not only do they look fantastic in cottage garden style borders, but they will provide you with a summer-long supply of wonderful cut flowers that you can display in your home too. Choose pompon, dinner plate of single-flowered varieties in bright or pastel shades and combine them with a good mix of other summer-flowering plants.
- Flowers in full sun
- Attracts bees and butterflies
- Suitable for use as cut flowers
Begonias
Begonias are a great choice for growing in pots and hanging baskets and ideal if you have a small garden or balcony. Choose a selection of different colours and position them at different heights to create a cosy, lush surrounding.
- Flowers in full sun or partial shade
- Attracts bees and butterflies
- Suitable for pots and hanging baskets
Gladioli
A key factor in creating a cottage-style planting is a good mix of flower shapes. Gladiolus have upright flower spikes that bring a different structure to a mixed planting schemes. Plant them around soft, mound-forming plants to add contrast.
- Flowers in full sun
- Suitable for use as cut flowers
- Suitable for borders or containers
Polianthes
A traditional cottage-style garden is filled with scent, and polianthes will supply that by the bucket load. In addition, their upright growing habit adds structure and contrast to mixed borders. They also attract bees and make excellent cut flowers to add to a country-style bouquet.
- Flowers in full sun or partial shade
- Fragrant flowers
- Attracts bees and butterflies
Crocosmias
Crocosmias produce delicate flowers on elegant, gently swaying stems, and their vivid shades add warmth and contrast. They’re easy to grow and very reliable, flowering every year, extending the flowering season well into autumn.
- Flowers in full sun or partial shade
- Late season colour
- Attracts bees and butterflies
Nerines
These autumn-flowering beauties are ideal for growing in pots as well as borders and take over just as other plants are starting to fade, providing an injection of fresh colour. For a striking and varied cottage-garden style display, plant them with other varieties that last into autumn, such as compact dahlias or agapanthus.
- Flowers in full sun or partial shade
- Late-season colour
- Suitable for borders or containers
Peonies
With their wonderful flowers and sweet fragrance, peonies are a must in any cottage-style garden. Flowering early in the summer, they’re the perfect plant to kick-start the season. They’ll tolerate a bit of shade so are useful for small or enclosed gardens, plus they make lovely cut flowers.
- Flowers in full sun or partial shade
- Suitable for use as cut flowers
- Fragrant flowers
Lily of the Valley
Lily of the valley is an excellent choice for shady gardens and very easy to grow. It’s low growing and spreads over time to create a lush carpet of foliage with the addition of highly fragrant, delicate white blooms in early summer. They’re ideal for growing at the front of a border or for filling gaps between shrubs.
- Flowers in full or partial shade
- Fragrant flowers
- Attracts bees and butterflies
Bearded Iris
No cottage garden is complete without tall irises planted in swathes through its beds and borders. Plant them among lower growing or mound-forming plants and the large blooms will tower above them on tall, upright stems.
- Flowers in full sun
- Early-summer colour
-
Attracts bees and butterflies
Liatris
Liatris forms a mound of foliage and multiple swaying stems, topped with pretty purple flower clusters. They have the sort or airiness and swaying movement that is perfect for any cottage-style border or container. They’re very low maintenance too – with very little fuss this perennial plant will come back and provide a repeat display every year.
- Flowers in full sun
- Attracts bees and butterflies
- Suitable for borders or containers
Gypsophila
Gypsophila is a cottage-garden classic, producing a soft, airy cloud of tiny white flowers. It combines well with virtually any other sun-loving plant and look fantastic in the border. Being perennial, they flower every year, and the fact that they make lovely cut flowers is another bonus.
- Flowers in full sun or partial shade
- Suitable for use as cut flowers
- Attracts bees and butterflies
Daylilies
Daylilies produce a long-lasting display of exotic-looking blooms for months during summer. Their mound-forming habit provides the ideal base for combinations with upright-flowering plants like polianthes and liatris.
- Flowers in full sun or partial shade
- Suitable for borders or containers
- Attracts bees and butterflies
Cottage-garden Planting Combination
If you’re looking for inspiration, try this combination which would suit a sunny border and provides a great mix of colours, structures and heights. The taller varieties (liatris, gypsophila and peony) should be planted behind the daylily with a couple of swathes of polianthes and iris running through the middle.
In this combination (from left to right):
- Daylily ‘Open My Eyes’
- Liatris spicata
- Gypsophila ‘Bristol Fairy’
- Peony ‘Madame Emile Debatene’
- Polianthes ‘Super Gold’
- Bearded Iris ‘Dante’s Inferno’
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Naomi Jones |
