How to Create an English Cottage Garden

During the long, dreary, winter months, it is fun to dream about creating new spring gardens. I have done this for years. One year, I planned a succulent garden, another time it was a rose garden, or a climbing, trailing garden with many arbors, arches and trellises. A few years ago I created a landscaped pond and planted water lilies and other water plants. Another year I did a scented garden, then a shady, textured-foliage garden. The list went on and on. Then, one year I thought about my grandmother’s garden and how much I loved visiting it when I was a child. I was determined to recreate that lush, scented, old-fashioned magical place on my own property. Here is how to create the old-fashioned, English Cottage Garden you remember.

Many of the gardens of yesterday were old-fashioned cottage gardens or English gardens. These gardens were known for lush, colorful plantings, rich with wonderful scents. There were many garden ‘rooms’ and often each ‘room’ was planted in a different theme. Flowers bloomed from early spring until the fall frosts came. There was something beautiful to look at all throughout the year, and when the flowers were done blooming, architecturally-pleasing structures and evergreen plants gave structure and winter interest in the garden.

To recreate a garden of your memories, begin by revisiting, in your mind, each section of the garden and write down what you remember about the plantings, flowers, structures, garden furniture and other points of interest.

A favorite spot of mine was a tiny grassy area in my grandmother’s side garden. In this small, secluded spot, a weeping Beauty Bush (Kolkwitzia amabalis ‘pink cloud’) shaded the area in a canopy of frothy pink flowers. Lilies of the Valley bloomed and scented climbing roses. tumbling over an archway, gave off a most wonderful perfume. With this memory in my mind, I began designing my own cottage garden.

Here is a list of some old-fashioned English cottage garden plants I included:

Lily of the valley, beauty bush, old fashioned petunias, blue Roman hyacinths, perennial verbenas, hydrangeas, old-fashioned sweet peas, sweet William, old-fashioned Empress of India Nasturtiums, Old Mexico Zinnias, snapdragons, pink surprise calendula, Jubilee Gem cornflowers, Pink Peony poppies, Lady Slipper, Blue Lace Flower, Amaranth ‘Magic Fountains”, ‘Radiance Sensation’ Cosmos, ‘Day Dream’ Cosmos, Rose Queen Cleome, Violet Queen Cleome, ink Queen Cleome, Blue Larkspur, Gloriosa Daisies, Bachelor’s Button, Heirloom poppy, Lilacs, Four O’clock, Peonies, Love in a Mist Nigella Damascena, Heavenly Blue Morning Glory, Aquilegia Sweet Rainbows, Canterbury Bells in soft pastels, Hollyhocks, Delphinium in pinks, blues and white, Dianthus, Cone Flowers, Candy Mountain Foxglove, Gladioli, Fragrant Phlox, Snowdrops Galanthus, Snowflakes, Stocks, Foxglove, Primroses, violets, Forget-Me-Nots, Japanese Anemone, Asters, Black-Eyed Susan’s, hibiscus, Coral Bells, Butterfly Bush, Oriental Poppy, Hosta, Geraniums, Fuchsias, Orange Tiger Lily, Lupine, Goldenrod, Sunflowers, Daylilies, White Lace Hydrangea, Calla Lilies, Potentilla, Lavenders, Climbing Jasmine, Clematis, Heirloom Roses, Wisteria, Iris, Heliotrope, Dahlias, Scented Stock, Nicotiana, Daphne, Mint, Viburnum, and pansies. Also, small boxwoods are wonderful for hedges to separate areas into garden ‘rooms’ or line pathways. These will stay green throughout the year.

All the above plants are old-fashioned, English cottage garden heirlooms. Most are scented. Also, heirloom roses are wonderful to include as well as old English climbers and wild roses. A typical English Cottage Garden has old roses, full of fragrance and beauty, tumbling over an arbor or archway in the garden. An old, pink sweetheart climbing rose called Cecile Brunner is perfect for this purpose. Don’t forget to add brick, stone or pebble pathways throughout your cottage garden for meandering walks through the sweetly scented beds of flowers. Also, plan to include a few vintage pieces such as benches, bird baths and other garden adornments for further interest. Colorful pots of flowers here and there add even more color and can be moved to different areas where blossoms begin to fade.

As the bleak, winter days stretch on, start dreaming of that new spring garden. Plan it out on paper. Draw a diagram of how you want your flower beds and pathways to look. Use my list above to jog your memory of some beloved flowers of your childhood. Start planning now and soon the garden of your dreams will become a reality.