There is nothing more peaceful than looking out of your window in the morning and seeing a thriving, green garden. Once you’ve cultivated it with your own hands, Brits have a new-found love for gardening with 56 percent citing its mental health benefits as the reason behind their growing green thumb.
Not only will your garden raise your mood when you look at it with its abundant blooms, but it will also attract local wildlife. Unlike other gardens, you can take a more relaxed approach to its maintenance.
Here is a comprehensive guide on how to cultivate your very own enchanting cottage garden.
Choosing the Right Plants
A traditional cottage garden often revolves around quintessential flowers like foxgloves, roses, and hardy geraniums. You want a mixture of self-seeding annuals and durable perennials to create ground-level sweeps of color alongside several climbers that blend together effortlessly.
Though technically a common toxic plant, foxgloves add a sense of grandeur with their tall spires. The same goes for delphiniums, which you can find in vibrant color variations. Roses bring romantic clusters of blooms, while phlox provides long-lasting ground cover.
Practical Tips for Resilience
Given the UK’s increasingly unpredictable weather, creating a climate-resilient cottage garden will ensure it survives the sleet, snow, and dropping temperatures.
In the summer, drought-tolerant varieties like lavender and sedums will keep your garden lush and full. When preparing for wet winters, you want flowers like iris and aster that can tolerate damp soil.
To retain moisture and reduce the need for frequent watering, use natural materials like gravel or mulch around plants. Mulch helps conserve water, while gravel provides excellent drainage.
Adding a cloche to protect younger plants extends the growing season and safeguards delicate flowers during unexpected cold snaps.
Planting for Wildlife and Sustainability
Cottage gardens are historically both ornamental and productive spaces so selecting plants that support the wildlife is important. You want flowers that attract pollinators such as lavender and echinacea, who in turn contribute significantly to plant health and biodiversity.
Keep things sustainable by avoiding chemical pesticides that can harm any animal visitors. Instead, select companion plants that naturally deter pests – marigolds, for instance, are known to repel aphids.
Creating Seasonal Interest
To keep your cottage garden lively year-round, layer plant heights and stagger bloom times. This approach allows for a rich, multi-dimensional look with interest at every level.
For example, low-growing bulbs like snowdrops and crocuses signal the start of spring, while taller summer perennials dominate later in the year.
Plan a color scheme that changes with the seasons. In spring, soft pastels create a gentle atmosphere, whereas summer can showcase bolder tones.
