The 10 plants you need to achieve a cottage garden

One of the things I love about my job is the variation I get.

Every person and their garden is different, and each brief is carefully tailored to their specific circumstances, lifestyle and of course their homes.

But, I have noticed a bit of a theme, and that is the adoration of a cottage garden.

So, in this blog I am sharing my top 10 plants that you can incorporate into your garden to achieve that classic cottage garden style!

What is a cottage garden?

Now there is always a sliding scale when it comes to any style of garden, and room for you to adapt this to suit you. Whether that’s mixing up the colour pallete or having a modern twist.

But for me the characteristics of a cottage garden include;

Overflowing planting
Classic pink, purple, blue and white planting
A loser approach to gardening where you embrace plants self seeding and enjoy a less manicured look
Mixing up planting to include space for edible and scented plants where you can feel immersed in the space

Tell me the plants I need!

These are my personal favourite top 10 plants for a classic cottage garden!

Rosmarinus officinalis 'Prostratus Group'

This is a trailing rosemary that looks fabulous flowing over walls or the edge of a raised bed. I adore the scent of Rosemary and can’t walk past a plant without touching it! It is evergreen so provides structure year round, produces the most beautiful lilac-blue flowers from Spring and it is edible. Plant this in a kitchen garden, or close to your kitchen where it is easy to pop out to add to meals or cocktails.

Oenothera lindheimeri

What I love about this is the texture. It is almost like a grass but has lots of beautiful creamy-white star shaped flowers with a gentle hint of pink, which move beautifully in the breeze. This will flower from Spring through to Summer and is drought tolerant which is ideal for our changeable climate and your watering schedule!

Allium ‘Purple sensation’

Alliums are great seasonal additions in the garden to signal that Summer has started, and a magnet for the bees. The tall statuesque stems and perfect ball-shaped flower heads make a real structural focal point in the garden. They offer great height and leave the flower heads on to dry and they provide great Autumn-Winter interest too.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle'

Huge white floppy hydrangea heads look fabulous in any cottage garden. I would recommend plant supports to get the most from them as the heads get so big the stems can struggle to stay vertical! Hydrangea’s flower in late Summer, but keeping their heads on through Autumn and Winter provides beautiful structure in the garden too.

The generous gardener rose

No cottage garden would be complete without at least one rose! I have chosen this one because it is a prolific flowering, a vigorous climber and has a beautiful scent. It will repeat flower if you keep on top of deadheading and would add a softness growing up a pergola or the front of your house.

Digitalis purpurea

I have chosen foxgloves instead of the traditional Delphinium. This is because I personally find foxgloves are less work, they don’t require the staking Delphinum’s do and they are amazing for self-seeding. This variety is the classic pink you see growing naturally but there are so many beautiful colours you can buy. They are a magnet for bees and their tall tower-like stems offer great height in a mixed border.

Geranium ‘Rozanne’

This geranium is fantastic for ground cover or in the front of a border. It has beautiful purple flowers which will appear from late Spring to early Autumn. In the mild Autumn last year I still had flowers in November!

Anemone × hybrida 'Honorine Jobert'

This is a fast growing perennial which when planted in the right spot will happily take up lots of room. The white daisy-type flowers are great in partially shaded spots and they will flower through Summer into early Autumn. They grow to around 1.2m in height and look great when bobbing their heads in the back of a border in a Summer breeze.

Nepeta ‘Six hills giant’

This profusely flowering perennial is a magnet for pollinators. The silvery foliage looks fabulous against the lilac-purple flower spikes and it looks great when left to overspill pathways and border edges. It is also a fab alternative to Lavender if you have a partially shaded spot, or your garden soil is clay.

Tulip ‘Spring green’

This is a viridiflora type tulip which means that they are extremely well performing and are more reliable at coming back each year than many other types of tulips. This has a classic tulip shape with soft white petals and a hint of green from the base. They flower slightly later in Spring and so are great to pair with other earlier flowering Spring bulbs to extend your bulb displays.