With a whimsical rural feel, the cottage garden has grown in popularity over the years. Bursting with a variety of brightly coloured flowers, gradients of height with climbing plants, trees and shrubbery, and decorated with quaint furniture and paths, it really can add a huge amount of personality to your home. Here we explore some of the ways to give your garden a cottage feel this spring.
A Traditional Take
The cottage garden began in humble dwellings as a supply of medicinal plants and food, however over the years it has become a firm favourite for many. From small city centre balconies to the traditional thatched Devon holiday cottages from Lyme Bay Holidays situated in rural villages, cottage gardens can easily be recreated, no matter where you live.
To achieve a traditional cottage garden, try incorporating a wide variety of plants and flowers of differing heights and colours. The haphazard look should be just that however, a look, there should be some level of control and planning involved to ensure your garden doesn’t become too unruly or unmanageable. Start small with easy to manage flowers and shrubbery and grow your garden outwards once you’ve established a base.
Bright Flowers
A cottage garden would not be complete without an array of brightly coloured flowers, all entwining and complimenting each other. There are no rules to which flowers you should choose, but here are a few popular plants, ideal for the cottage garden.
- Lavender
With its fragrant blooms and beautiful purple hue, the lavender plant is excellent for covering large spaces in your cottage garden. Whilst this plant looks delicate, it will happily grow throughout spring.
- Hollyhock
A truly traditional cottage garden plant, the Hollyhock can grow up to 2m and its brightly coloured flowers attract both bees and butterflies. Beautiful throughout it’s flowering season, the Hollyhock is a must have for any cottage garden design.
- Geraniums
Fantastic for filling space, the Geranium is a hardy plant which can grow in a variety of conditions, and flowers throughout June to October. Their beautiful colours make them a popular addition to any garden.
- Roses
One of the traditional flowers to feature in a cottage garden, roses are the classic choice. Adding both height and colour, the rose can be manipulated in to growing up walls, around arches or even along fences.
Create Height
Once you’ve started your cottage garden, you may notice it needs a bit of extra height. Planting trees can be excellent for adding that extra dimension, but also can bring with them a level of shade, therefore dependent on the size of your garden they may not be appropriate. A great alternative is to implement trellis around your garden or encouraging climbing plants on walls.
Decorate
The final touch to your cottage garden is decorating it to give it an added touch of personality. Ornaments such as windchimes or statues can add to the whimsical feel, whilst benches and pathways are excellent for providing access throughout your garden so you can explore and relax amongst your creation.
So, whether you have a small city centre garden, or are building up your own traditional cottage garden, here are a few must haves to get you started this spring.
