Creating a Charming Cottage Garden

If you are trying to Create a Charming Cottage Garden for your Historic Home, it will not be difficult, but it will take time, patience, and A LOT OF FLOWERS! You will see step by step as our cottage garden takes shape, from start to finish.

I also have a free e-book with cottage garden floral selections, as well as how to care for your cottage flowers:

FREE COTTAGE GARDEN E-BOOK

Here is a FRE E-Book to help you get started:

Starting a Cottage Garden can be very intimidating. I do not have a green thumb and most of my plants and flowers never survive. But I wanted an English Cottage Rose Garden so badly that I was willing to try. So just5 take this one little step at a time. My free e-book is on the website. I go into more specifics as to how to care for each cottage flower. Where to plant them and what type of natural things that you can add to the soil to enhance their growth.

I hope this inspires and encourages you to tackle that Cottage Garden that you have always wanted. If I can do it, you can do it…let’s get started…but first an inspirational picture to motivate you!

What happens when time goes by…

As you can see the roses look AMAZING…but the House still needs a lot of work.

This is three years of growth; we used horse manure from our neighbor, that really did the trick!

Roses, Roses, and more Roses

But the great thing about a cottage garden is that you will never Be finished. Your cottage garden is always growing and changing. At times you may need to divide your flowers and plants. Other times some of your floral choices may be a little invasive and you have to relocate them.

I know that if you are a flower lover like I am buying lots of flowers will not be very painful for you. I can never resist the garden section….so many flowers calling my name and begging to come home with me.

So, let’s get started…Rocks, Rocks, and More Rocks!

For an English Cottage Garden, you will need lots and lots of rocks! We are surrounded by farm fields, so the farmer is kind enough to let us grab the rocks out of the field once every year when he plows. You can also ask your neighbors most times they find them to be a nuisance and let you have them for free. You can also check Facebook Marketplace.

Raised Beds

Raised beds are great for flower beds or vegetable beds or you can also do cut flower beds, or plant a French “Protege”garden, where you plant herbs, vegetables, flowers, and fruits all in the same bed.

Fencing

I wish we had a vintage wrought iron fence, but this one from Menards serves a similar function. You could also go with the standard white picket fence.

Drainage and lots and lots of Small Rocks

You may need to re-route the gutters and possibly add drainage where needed. This is the side of the carriage house that we have since re-sided.

Manure

You will also need lots and lots of manure. You will need to let it compost for at least 3-6 months, or possibly even a year.

Let’s plant some flowers- Let’s start with Catmint

You can choose to plant annuals, but they have to be planted every year. They are great for planting in seasonal containers on your porch or window boxes. I prefer to plant Perennials since they come up every year. I really loved this Catmint, it grows like crazy, so after a few years you will have to divide it…FREE PLANTS! Although it is a little invasive because it grows spreads out so much, so because of that it would be perfect to use on the borders of your garden.

Veronica

I love Veronica, it is less invasive than catmint. It comes in purple, blue, pink and white, so very versatile for any color scheme you are looking for in your beautiful cottage floral garden. This is the moody blue Veronica flower below, so pretty!

Tree Removal

You may have to remove some trees, when planting your cottage garden, this one was rotten. I was so sad to see it go; it was so big.

Berries

What would a cottage garden be without berries, we transplanted these from our previous home. These are Blackberries. We also planted Black Raspberries, and Red Raspberries. But just an fyi Black Raspberries and Red Raspberries have thorns!

Time to go Shopping…Yeah!

This is my favorite part, flower shopping. I just can’t resist the garden section when spring is in the air, and it is time to plant. Naturally, I head to the rose section. Rose Bushes tend to be a little more stubborn to grow but rose shrubs seem a little easier if you are a beginner.

Let’s create a Charming Cottage Garden. The first step is to purchase some roses. Roses with variegated colors are always visually stunning, but solid colors are simple and are easy to incorporate into any floral garden color palette. So, before you go shopping think through what color flowers complement each other.

Do you want bold and vibrant, soft and sweet, or some of each.

At Last Roses

At Last Roses are my favorite, they are a very soft peach. I love pairing them with purple Catmint or Veronica. I also have some very soft white rose shrubs nearby just to soften the purple on the nearby flowers.

Cleanup

Be prepared for cleanup. There will be a lot of trimming and dead heading. You will need a good pair of flower snips and thick garden gloves. This cart that attaches to your lawn mower from Harbor Freight came in very handy! Here is the link: 10 cu. ft. Max Trailer Cart

So Pretty in Full Bloom-Let’s create a Cottage Garden!

All of your hard work has paid off, and now you have a stunning cottage garden. I get so many compliments on my cottage garden from friends and family!

Bird Bath

And what would a cottage garden be without a birdbath! You should have at least one, if not more, if you are wanting a sweet and charming cottage garden!

At Last Roses, Catmint, and Soft White Shrub Roses, I just love this color combination!

Morning Glories

We brought over these morning glory seeds from our last house. These are so versatile, and they are so easy to grow, just plant them and forget them.

As you can see, they just keep migrating farther down the fence each season.

Lilacs

We were so blessed to have two very old and “huge ” purple lilacs on our new property. They are more like a lilac tree. Stunning! They do not bloom for long, sad to say. But I am hoping to dry some this year.

Peony

My Grandmother on my dad’s side always had the most beautiful peonies in her backyard. Every time I see them, I am reminded of her.

Beautiful Concrete Statues-Create a Charming Cottage Garden

If you want to create a charming cottage garden, then EVERY cottage garden needs a GORGEOUS CONCRETE ANGEL STATUE! Classy and Elegant…look at that sweet little face and those chubby cheeks…

Close up At Last Roses

As I said before my favorite rose, the softest apricot!

Baby Birds

When you have a healthy garden, you will just naturally attract wildlife. Look at these precious baby birds that nested in our boxwood! I heard tiny little cheeping sounds and was so surprised to see these little baby birds baby birds with their little mouths open. This is one of my favorite pictures.

This is another picture that I was so surprised to get. Catching that butterfly right before he flew away again!

Look at this sweet yellow golden bird, he looks so intent!

Now it is time to head to the Garden Center, Let’s go!

Now that you have had time to think about what flowers you would like to put in your cottage garden, and what color scheme you would like to use, and you brought your list, now all you have to do is PURCHASE your lovely flowers, take them home, and plant them and watch them grow and mature.

They won’t look like much at first but just give them time, water, and a bit of LOVE!

I hope this post was helpful, and you would like to create a charming cottage garden then I have a free Cottage Garden e-book that you can either print or download and take with you when you do your cottage garden shopping. Please let me know if you have any questions, or comments. I would love to hear from You!

if you enjoyed this post and would like to see our 1840’s historic home and how we exposed our original timber beams here is a link to that post: Exposing our Original 1840’s Timber Beams in the Kitchen – Our Timber Home

Have a Blessed Day,

Catherine

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