Elements of a English Cottage Garden

This post explains all the elements of English cottage garden design! Where do these charming romantic garden designs come from and how do you achieve the look of an English cottage garden?

England is known for it’s stunning gardens! From lavish formal castle garden down to charming cottage gardens in the villages. To me an English cottage garden just seems so romantic and peaceful, something I hope to have one day!

It reminds me of my grandmas backyard flower garden that is filled with all kinds of colours and flower species, bumbling with honey bees and floral scents. One of my fondest childhood memories. Let’s get into all the details about English cottage gardens!

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What is an English cottage garden?

Like the name suggest English cottage gardens stem from England. England is known for their stunning gardens designs! The English cottage gardens however come from the low paid farm workers who would fill the little plots of land they had with vegetables, herbs and fruit trees.

Honey farmers would incorporate flowers for their bee farms, and as time went on and people had a little bit more time and money people started planting flowers for their own enjoyment.

Are there rules to an English cottage garden design?

In the victorian era William Robinson and Gertrude Jekyll had a huge influence on this design, it was somewhat of a rebellion against the formal, structured and planned out gardens that were seen everywhere. They introduced the idea of informal, natural and unruled garden designs.

So no, there really aren’t any rules for an English Cottage Garden Design! It is kind of the point of this garden design. Plant easy local flowers on the little patch you have with no specific rhyme or reason! Usually this combination of unorganized blooms create a stunning romantic floral scene that will bring so much joy!

What flowers are used in an English cottage garden?

A English cottage garden usually has an abundance of flowers and blooms! It is a little hard to figure out where to even start. Presumably back in the day the villagers would get the left over plants from the “bog houses” and with that they created their Gardens.

A good place to start is what is available to you locally, and also focus on easy plants to start with! It also totally depends on your climate so you would have to check your climate zone! A few good flowers that are popular in cottage garden and easier to grow are:

• Peonies
• Hollylocks
• Foxglove
• Hydrangeas
• Geranium
• Beebalms
• Roses
• Lavender
• Sweet peas

And the list goes on! I would try to focus on perennial flowers that come back each year so you can establish and extend your garden over the years!

Which colour are best in an English cottage garden?

There are no rules so you can really just do your own thing! An English cottage garden is usually sporting all kinds of colours and can be a combination of all however it doesn’t need to be!

Focus on what you don’t want, that would probably be easier with this garden style. Maybe you don’t like orange or yellow? Then leave it out! Go with a colour combo that makes you happy!

A few more tips:

• Consider a fruit tree, this will add dimension to your garden, attract honey bees, and who doesn’t like fresh fruit?
• You don’t need a lawn or lot’s of space, an English cottage garden is all about using the little space you have and wedging in what you can!
• Herbs very much belong in a English cottage garden and were from the beginning! Think lavender, chives, fennel, rosemary etc. They smell wonderfully, produce stunning blooms and are edible. It’s a win/win!
• Add little garden accessories like a garden fountain, stone figures or string lights to add charm!
• Don’t give up! It’s a learning process and the longer you stick with it the more you will learn and grow!

Examples of English cottage gardens:

This stunning English cottage garden is designed and planted by Karen from Sanctuary Home Decor!

The blog Three Dogs and a Garden has tons of great information on garden design, and I love her stunning English cottage garden!

A stunning garden by Lazy Sunday Cooking!

Clark Cottage Gardens really knows what she is doing! Check her out for tons of garden info!

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Summing it up

Feeling inspired to start a little English cottage garden yourself? As you can see you don’t need a lot of space, and there isn’t any rhyme or reasons. All you need is some dirt, flowers and a little passion and you will create something beautiful!

Happy planting, and I will talk to you soon!

Shop all my favourite English cottage garden accessories!