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The Elements of Cottage Garden Design

Create the romance of a cottage garden with these simple tips.



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Cottage Garden
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Go Informal

    Cottage gardens don't look designed. In fact, they're usually exuberant, free-flowering, and sometimes even unrestrained. To get the informal look, avoid planting in straight lines or defined patterns. Let plants cascade over paths and weave through each other. It adds to their charm. And grow self-seeding plants that pop up in unexpected places.

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Grow Old-Fashioned Flowers

    Cottage gardens aren't about new varieties. They're usually filled with the same traditional favorites your grandmother would have grown. Some popular examples include peony, cosmos, foxglove, snapdragon, pansy, bachelor's button, columbine, bleeding heart, and hollyhock.

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Select Homey Furniture

    Make your cottage garden into an outdoor living space by adding comfy furniture. Avoid anything contemporary. Instead look for Adirondack, wicker, or painted metal shellback chairs. The furniture doesn't have to match: Part of the charm is how informal it is. An eclectic mix fits right in.

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Look for Soft, Romantic Plants

    Most cottage gardens have a romantic feel. Part of that feel comes from the flowers. Look for blooms in soft pastel shades. Also look for plants packed with petals, such as peonies and old roses. As an added bonus, many of these varieties are also wonderfully fragrant.

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Look for Materials with Character

    Cottage gardens often include structures made from natural or well-worn materials. Weathered wood fences, arbors, and gates are right at home among a collection of cottage plants.

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Using Curving Pathways

    Create soft meandering pathways instead of those that follow a straight, structured line. Many paving materials work in cottage gardens, including wood chips, stone, old bricks, and flagstone.

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Choose Vintage Accessories

    Accessorize your cottage garden with antique or vintage items. You're more likely to find garage-sale bargains than high-ticket purchases in a cottage garden. An old, dented watering can or a gate with peeling paint can work nicely.

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Employ the Unexpected

    Don't be afraid to find creative uses for old items. For example, an old chicken feeder might become a fun planter, or a rusty trowel could be a great gate handle.

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Fit in a White-Picket Fence

    Though not every cottage garden has a white-picket fence, the two do seem to go hand-in-hand. You don't have to use the fence to create a boundary. A short section simply could hold up favorite floppy perennials.

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Do What You Love

    While all these elements are commonly found in a cottage garden, the biggest rule is that you create a look you love. Don't get caught up in trying to follow "the rules." Plant what you like and how you like it for a delightful cottage garden to suit you.

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Comments (4)
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kpinoon wrote:

I like the you arrange the flowers/plants. I was thinking that is not good to looked at once the flowers / plants are not arranged it well according to their area, but then, I was amazed when I was looked up. Hopefully, I am going to try to arrange it well. thanks a lot.

1/31/2012 01:28:36 AM Report Abuse
abbessee17 wrote:

I have a tiny garden that I share with a neighbor, we have managed to put in perienniels and then some annuals each year and it is very lovely. The garden is only 3ft wide by maybe 18 feet long, with two trees, two semicircular benches are one tree and lots of color. It can be done. abbessee

7/26/2011 01:21:35 PM Report Abuse
rj_angel_house wrote:

I love the cottage look. I live close to the ocean and the first year we moved here I had gorgeous flowers but the weather has been strange lately and it has been hard to get that look. I am going to try again this year!

1/8/2011 12:09:03 PM Report Abuse
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