What You’ll Need to Create a Classic Cottage Garden
The classic cottage garden is one of the most popular styles around. But to achieve that appearance, you need to understand the critical elements of this design style. Read through this article to learn what those elements are and how you can develop them on your property.
A cottage garden is a place where you can expect to find a wild abundance of colorful plant life. Yet while these gardens are informal, they also have a few distinct traits that set them apart from other styles. This article will introduce you to those defining elements while giving you an idea of what you’ll need to create an enchanting cottage garden of your own.
The first element you will need for your cottage garden is ample sunlight. Since bold masses of flowers are one of the hallmarks of this style, you will need to ensure that your area has enough daily light to support those species. It is not impossible to design a cottage garden in an area of partial shade. However, the best examples of cottage gardens are those that receive six to eight hours of sunlight each day.
After selecting a sunny location for your cottage garden, it is time to begin designing. The first element that you should design is your path system. While plants are the stars of the show in a cottage garden, the comparatively dull path system that runs through those plants is vital to the functionality of the garden.
There are no hard rules for how your path system should work. However, there are a few guidelines you should keep in mind at this stage. The paths you lay are what will allow you to access and maintain the plants you will grow later on. While a cottage garden may look like an area where plants have free reign to grow as they please, the truth is that those plants require a lot of ongoing care to look their best.
You should also consider creating multiple paths that connect to one another or a path that forms a loop. This approach will allow you and your garden guests to circulate through the entire garden and admire the plants that grow there. Remember that as you design your paths, you are simultaneously designing your planting beds. The voids left over after your paths are complete are where your plants will live.
The last tip we will give you about cottage garden paths relates to materials. If you want to make your cottage garden authentic, you should use a material such as gravel or crushed bricks. These materials are what you would find in a traditional cottage garden in England, where the style originated.
Now that you have created your paths and your garden beds, it is time to move on to the most exciting part of planning a cottage garden. The plants that you choose to grow are what will bring your cottage garden to life. Unlike some other styles, cottage garden design almost always includes a wide array of plant life, including many types of colorful flowers.
An alluring cottage garden boasts copious amounts of flowers. Often, masses of perennial plants are the best way to achieve that look. Here are some of the many perennial flowering species that you should consider planti
Flowering plants are not the only species you should plant. If you know the history of cottage gardens, then you understand that they originally served a functional role. Most notably, cottage gardens were where herbs and vegetables grew that would later find their way into the cottage kitchen. As such, the best cottage gardens are those that feature both flowers and edible plants
The edible plants that you should grow are those that are tastiest to you. But if you are searching for a few types that would belong in a traditional cottage garden, here are a few authentic options:
With your paths and plants in place, it is time to add the final touches to your cottage garden. A few structural elements will make your garden look complete. However, the structures that exist in a cottage garden are a bit different than those you might find in another garden style. Cottage garden structures don’t typically serve as focal points that draw attention to themselves. Instead, they are often somewhat rustic but also functional.
You could add a wooden fence to define the extent of your garden, or you can add structures that will allow you to grow hanging plants. But while those are great options, there is another garden structure that should have a home in your cottage garden. An arbor is one of the most common structures you can find in one of these gardens. Most often, a cottage garden arbor will provide support for any climbing plants you grow. Regarding those species, climbing roses are most emblematic of a traditional cottage garden.
A quality landscape design complements any nearby architecture. This principle leads to one pressing question on the topic of cottage gardens. What many people wonder is whether you can have a cottage garden even if you don’t live in a cottage. The simplest answer here is that you can design whatever type of garden you want, regardless of what kind of house you have.
However, there is a certain aesthetic charm that comes about when a cottage garden pairs with a quaint cottage home. Rest assured that there are other architectural styles that will also work well with a cottage garden. Most of these have a rustic appeal that complements the wildness of this garden design style. Still, even if you don’t own such a home, you shouldn’t let the architecture of your house prevent you from creating the cottage garden of your dreams. All you need to do is follow the advice in this article to turn that dream into reality.
