Cottage Garden Design
Five facts about cottage garden design
Fact one. Cottage gardens came to us from England. And they were modelled after the gardens of the poor.
Fact two: These gardens of the poor were not designed. They grew like topsy. Unplanned except for the delight of some farm wife.
Fact three: Any plant the gardener could find, scrounge, exchange was used. There were no plant lists of exotic perennials. Heck, these poor (financially if nothing else) struggled to eat; they weren't plant collectors. A few lucky ones, those who knew the head gardener at the estate might get the odd slip or two of interesting plants but for the most part, anything interesting was kept for sharing with other estates and collectors.
Fact four: There wasn't enough space for ornamental gardens; most of the land was used for food production so the family could actually eat something. Plants were tucked in as closely together as the poor housewife could make do in her small plot of ground and they grew there into a mad profusion of blooming wonder.
Fact five: These small cottage gardens were "adopted" as a garden style by designers who then "gentrified" and "civilized" the garden into designs and color coordinated plans to sell to their richer clients. Middle class gardeners adopted this garden trend and the so-called "cottage garden" was born. cottage garden design
Lilies (a classic cottage garden plant) with begonia in foreground at bottom
You can do this
So - where does this leave us when we talk about cottage garden design? It leaves us with several thoughts.
If you want to create a cottage garden, you're as capable of doing so as anybody else.
There are no magic one-size-fits all plan for a cottage garden. Each garden is tailored to and by the owner. Each garden is designed to fit the needs and budget of the owner and each and every one of us can create a plant filled garden if we truly want to. (Hint: annual flower seed is really inexpensive as every one of those old garden ladies could attest to.)
You can't "buy" a cottage garden. You can buy a cottage garden design from a book or designer but the success of that garden will still rest in the hands of the person doing the planting and tending.
Mixed annuals and perennials (blue salvia - calendula - echinacea - gaillardia - zinnia)
Suggestions for cottage garden design
If I were to give you one rule for succeeding with a cottage garden design, it would be to plant things a little closer together than recommended. The plants will grow up together quicker, there will be less bare ground and the garden will be full faster.
If I were to give you one suggestion, widen your beds so there are no bare spaces in the garden. Plant every bit of space with as narrow pathways as you can tolerate. That makes a magical cottage garden in a small space.
Plant annual seeds such as cosmos, old fashioned asters and zinnia (the same plants available to the cottage housewives) between the perennial flowers. When the perennials are finished blooming, the annuals will announce their presence. Save your own seeds from year to year.
Bottom Line
You can create your own magical cottage garden design by simply going into your garden and growing the plants you love.
Grow them everywhere and eliminate the grass.
Grow a little bit of everything in the same garden and add a ton of annual seed to give you that overflowing "cottage garden design look".
Cottage gardens come from spending a lot of time in the garden and loving your garden. They do not come off the designer's drawing table.
Mixed Perennials
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