Cottage Garden Plants
OK so you dont think it can be that easy. :-) (so Ill give you a few thoughts on cottage garden design and then give you a few plants to start with)
Cottage gardens are gardens of simplicity of plant choice. They were originally farmyard gardens owned and grown by the housewife and not estate gardens. They were jumbles of plants that could be grown from seed, the seed collected and kept and shared with neighbors and friends. If not from seed, then starts or roots were shared. But they were not fancy plants from fancy nurseries. These were gardens of the common folk.
And common folk loved to fill their gardens with a riot of color. It wasnt all-too-well graphically designed or subtle shades of colours chosen to match the draperies. They were well-loved plants and they were all tossed into a small patch of ground to thrive and survive with as little problem as possible.
Cottage garden plants were tightly packed together to get as many plants into as small a space as possible. Thats what gives the look to a cottage garden. Its that jumble of wonderful blooms and leaves that unkempt look of love with every plant loved and treasured but allowed to express itself.
Flowers are picked and enjoyed in the house because theres always more where they came from.
The rule for choosing cottage garden plants is to pick plants you love and want to grow.
Here are a few of those that would fit the image of a cottage garden.
Grow the most fragrant roses you can find. Never mind these prissy hybrid tea roses, use roses as solid background plants and as climbers on fences and wherever you can fit them.
Clematis. Put them on fences, let them wander and grow up and over taller perennials and roses.
Cosmos. This is a self-sowing annual that is almost a must in any cottage garden plan. Let it run and only weed out those that get too far out of hand. Ive never seen any like that. :-)
Delphiniums - I can't imagine a garden without them.
Lilies, the more the merrier
Asters and Zinnia. You grow these yourself from self-saved seed in your own garden. Use big tall ones forget the modern hybrids.
Babys breath. Easy from seed in the perennial garden and wonderful for cutting and drying.
Lavender - Yes - grow it. What else can I say.
Mondarda or beebalm is one of the classic cottage garden plants.
Garden phlox. Every garden had as many of these wonderful growing Phlox as possible.
Hollyhock flowers scattered throughout. Who can even begin to think about planning a cottage garden without having
And after those you simply add the plants that you enjoy. In whatever color you like. Its a cottage garden. It is about a riot of color and enjoying what comes along.
Five facts about cottage garden design that designers don't want you to know.
If you have a question about cottage garden plants click here to ask it.
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