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How To Create The Perfect Cottage Garden
Informal but beautiful, laid back and affordable cottage gardens are ideal for those who want a pretty and colourful garden but enjoy a more carefree approach. It really is a case of beauty is in the eye of the beholder and you can make it everything you want it to be with the view of creating an organised but beautiful mess.
In years gone by cottage gardens were split into three areas to keep the family going these were vegetables to nourish, flowers to feed the soul and brighten the day and herbs to cure, today they can be just as functional or simply a thing of beauty to enjoy with a cuppa and a piece of cake.
So where to start…creating a cottage garden is as easy as 1,2,3 if you follow these three simple and easy design principles from garden guru Frankie “Flowers” Ferragine:
1. Be Practical
The joy of a cottage garden is that there are plants that are easy to care for and serve a purpose in abundance, these are the sort of garden planters you should be choosing, there’s no room for fussy ornamentals. For example, shrub type roses provide bright, colourful blooms, as well as edible rosehips that are chock full of vitamin C. Let decoration take a back seat using only plant supports, such as arches and pergolas to guide your plants but to to place them formally.
See our fantastic range of pergolas, planters and arches from our Poppy Forge Collection, perfect for any cottage garden: http://www.theorchardhomeandgifts.com/section.php/1670/1/poppy-forge
2. Explosive colour
Cottage gardens should be a real feast for the eyes. Mix mass informal plantings of coneflowers, pot marigolds, dianthus pinks and nasturtiums with loose groupings of leafy vegetables, herbs and fruit-bearing shrubs (like blueberries and raspberries) to create the look.
3. Make it Affordable
To compliment the casual array of flowers and herbs avoid manufactured pavers and expensive pots and instead opt for crushed-gravel walkways and antique wash basins planted with trailing strawberries. Vintage wooden crates and claw-footed tubs are also the perfect decorative elements and help create a lived-in look. Keep in mind that you’re going for a charming space of comfort instead of the grandeur and formality of a contemporary garden.
Tip: Look for garden planters that are disease and insect resistant, and avoid fussy plants replacing them with long-blooming perennials.
Frankie’s favourite flowers
Perennials: black-eyed Susan, candytuft, columbine, coneflower, day lilies, dianthus pinks, larkspur, oriental poppy
Annuals: calendula (pot marigold), nasturtiums, pansies/violas, snapdragons, sunflowers, zinnias
Herbs: basil, bergamot, creeping thyme, garlic, lavender, lemon balm, oregano, sage
For some cottage garden inspiration see our Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/theorchardhome/the-orchard-cottage-garden-inspiration-shabby-chic/
For more garden planters & other accessories to complete your cottage garden look visit our website: www.theorchardhomeandgifts.com
