Cottage Gardens & Timeless Beauty

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Cottage Gardens: How to Create a Charming and Colorful Outdoor Space

Believe it or not, cottage gardens are a personal favorite gardening style. They feature a casual and natural mix of flowers, herbs, and vegetables. This type of garden is ideal for beginner gardeners as there are no strict rules, merely principles to follow.

You can add charm and color to your outdoor space with a cottage garden, while also enjoying fresh produce and cut flowers.

Today, I’ll guide you on how to plan, plant, and care for a cottage garden.

One important note: Cottage gardens have no real rules. Many say they don’t have lawns included but others incorporate a small patch or the paths are grass. You get the idea.

Key Takeaways

• What is a cottage garden?
• What are the benefits of a cottage garden?
• What are the main elements of a cottage garden?
• How to create a cottage garden?
• Maintaining your Garden

What is a Cottage Garden?

A cottage garden is an informal style of gardening that uses traditional materials, dense plantings, and a variety of ornamental and edible plants.

What are the benefits of a cottage garden?

A cottage garden can create a cozy, snug, and romantic atmosphere in your outdoor space.

It will attract wildlife, such as bees, butterflies, and birds. It can also provide you with food, herbs, and cut flowers for your home or as gifts.

What are the main elements of a cottage garden?

A cottage garden usually has some common elements, such as simple paths, fences, arbors, trellises, benches, and whimsical touches.

It also has a widely varied selection of plants, such as perennials, climbing plants, annuals, native plants, herbs, ground covers, and spring bulbs.

Planning a Cottage Garden

Before you start digging, you need to have a clear idea of what you want your cottage garden to look like. Here are some things to consider:

Location

Choose a sunny spot that gets at least six hours of direct sunlight a day. Avoid areas that are too windy, shady, or wet.

If you wish to grow a shade cottage garden, then go for it, remember no rules!

But, many plants commonly planted in cottage gardens won’t work in the shade but many other beautiful plants will.

Shop for shade plants and plant as you would for a sunnier spot incorporating the principles of cottage gardens.

Size

Start small and expand gradually. A cottage garden can be as big or as small as you want, but it does require regular upkeep.

You can also create a cottage garden in containers or raised beds if you have limited space.

Style

Cottage gardens are informal and personal, so there are no strict rules on how to design them.

Some common elements you may wish to include are curving paths, fences, arbors, trellises, and benches.

Birdhouses, statues, and signs are little decorative touches you can incorporate easily.

Cottage Garden Plants

Cottage gardens are known for their diversity and abundance of plants.

You can mix and match different types of plants according to your preference and climate. Some popular cottage garden plants include:

Perennials

These are plants that live for more than two to three years and come back every year.

They provide structure and color to your garden throughout the seasons.

Some examples are asters, butterfly bush, chrysanthemum, daisy, rudbeckia, echinacea, and salvia.

Visit a local small garden center with a knowledgeable staff and they can steer you towards plants that thrive in your area.

Or befriend a neighbor who has a beautiful garden, they may grow some cottage flowers already and can tell you which ones are easiest to grow.

Climbing plants

These are plants that grow vertically and cover walls, fences, arbors, or trellises. They add height and interest to your garden and attract pollinators.

Some examples are clematis, climbing roses, jasmine, and wisteria.

Annuals

These are plants that live for one year or less and need to be replanted every year. They provide bursts of color and fill in the gaps between perennials. Some examples are petunias, poppies, ageratum, nicotiana, and sunflowers.

Herbs

These are plants that have culinary or medicinal uses. They add fragrance and flavor to your garden and kitchen.

Some examples are lavender, oregano, sage, tansy, thyme, and yarrow.

Ground covers

These are low-growing plants that spread over the soil and can help prevent weeds.

They add texture and contrast to your garden and soften the edges of paths or beds. Some examples are alyssum, blue star creeper, creeping sedums, and lobelia.

Spring bulbs

These are plants that grow from underground storage organs called bulbs. They bloom in early spring and brighten up your garden after winter.

Some examples are cyclamen, daffodils, hyacinth, Iris, and tulip.

Planting a Cottage Garden

Once you have chosen your location, size, style, and plants for your cottage garden, you can start planting.

Here are some tips on how to plant a cottage garden:

Prepare the soil

Dig up the soil to loosen it and remove any weeds or rocks. Add some organic matter like compost or manure to enrich the soil and improve drainage.

Well-amended soil is a great way to ensure success with any garden endeavor so don’t make the mistake of ignoring this advice. Good soil is the key to a great garden.

Arrange the plants

Lay out the plants in their pots or trays before planting them in the ground. This will help you visualize how they will look together and make any adjustments if needed.

Or if you have started plants from seed, plot out how you would like it to look and maybe put together a collage of photos of the plants on a paper mock-up of your garden bed. Or a digital one.

Try to create a random, natural look yet create strong swaths of colors by planting in clumps or drifts.

This can be done by planting 3 or more of the same plant together. (if it is a large plant already then this is not necessary) Keep in mind proper spacing to let them grow and spread.

Consider the height, color, bloom time, and spacing of the plants when arranging them for the best effect.

Plant the plants

Dig holes that are slightly larger than the root balls of the plants. Gently remove the plants from their pots or trays and place them in the holes.

Fill in the holes with soil and press firmly around the plants. Water them well after planting.

A cottage garden is usually planted densely, so you can place plants closer together than even is listed on the tags. This helps to create a lush look and it chokes out weeds.

Want to grow from seed? Sowing easy to grow cottage flowers is as easy and spreading your seeds in the Fall then thinning in the Spring.

Mulch the soil

Cover the soil with a layer of organic mulch like bark or straw to retain moisture, suppress weeds, and protect the roots from temperature extremes.

Now here is a caveat, if you sow seeds in Fall as suggested above, do not mulch over where you have sown the seeds. Mulching over them may prevent them from germinating.

Maintaining a Cottage Garden

A cottage garden may look natural, but it does require some care and attention to keep it healthy and beautiful.

Here are some tips on how to maintain a cottage garden:

Water regularly

Water your plants deeply and thoroughly once or twice a week, depending on the weather and soil conditions.

If using a sprinkler or hose avoid watering in the middle of the day as this can waste water via evaporation. Morning or evening can work best.

Using a drip irrigation system is helpful for watering your plants evenly and efficiently. I bought a kit from a big box store to get started, mine is all above ground and covered with mulch. So you don’t need a big sophiscated system to benefit from using a drip system.

Put it on a timer to make it work for you. Just check intermittantly that everything is working as it should.

Fertilize occasionally

Fertilize your plants once or twice a year, preferably in spring and fall, with compost. It feeds the soil which in turn feeds the plants.

This will provide them with the nutrients they need to grow and bloom well. Skip all the bad advice on using household ingredients in the garden. They are myths that can do more harm than good.

Prune selectively

Prune your plants as needed to remove dead, diseased, or damaged parts, and to shape them or control their size.

You can cut back perennials after they finish blooming or leave them over winter depending upon the plant, prune climbing plants in late winter or early spring, and prune spring bulbs after their foliage dies back.

You can also deadhead or cut off the faded flowers of some plants to encourage more blooms or prevent self-seeding.

Stake or support

Stake or support your plants if they are tall, heavy, or floppy. Use bamboo canes, metal rods, or wooden stakes to hold up the stems of the plants.

You can also use grow-through supports, trellises, or cages to support the plants from below or above. This will prevent them from falling over or breaking in the wind or rain.

Harvest or cut

Harvest or cut your plants for culinary or decorative purposes. You can pick fresh herbs, vegetables, or fruits from your cottage garden and use them in your cooking or preserving.

You can also cut flowers from your cottage garden and arrange them in vases or bouquets for your home or as gifts. You don’t need a dedicated area for a cut flower garden, most cottage garden flowers are great for cutting.

Weeding

This is a chore that many despise but if done right a cottage garden is usually easier to keep weeded. Why?

Because of how it is planted, the flower and plants are close together and that shades out the weeds. Mulching also keeps weed seeds from germinating.

While walking your garden daily or as you enjoy your garden during the week always check for weeds.

Weeds pulled or removed immediately helps to prevent them from going to seed or propagating themselves. There will always be a weed to pull but it does not have to be a huge chore.

I make it a mindful exercise. I feed the weeds to my chickens who are always in favor of getting greens to eat. Spring can be the worst time for weeds but even when I am very busy I can take 10 minutes a day to tackle a 3′ x 3′ section to weed.

Seeing how good it looks gives me incentive to tackle another section the next day. You will no believe how fast you can clean up a garden taking it one day at at time. Not only do you get on top of the weeds but you get the benefit of being outside and letting the tension of the day fade away. Gardening is good for your health.

You Can Do This!

A cottage garden is a charming and relaxed type of garden that is characterized by its informal layout, diverse mix of plants, and colorful blooms. Whether you are a beginner gardener or an experienced green thumb, creating your own cottage garden is a fun and rewarding project that will provide beauty and joy for years to come.

By following these tips, you can create a beautiful and vibrant cottage garden to enjoy.

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