Recommendations for Cottage Gardens

23 years ago

I have just planted a new garden consisting of mostly roses (ground covers, climbers on fences and archway, 6'wheeper and general roses. The garden also contains bulbs, lavender,a few tiny daisy things, camellia tree & butterfly plant).

I am not very familiar with cottage plants and am trying to get that look, even though the garden is predominately roses (50).

I would very much appreciate recommendations for plants that would create a cottage appearance. I am also partial to flowering plants, and ones that don't need to much work. Garden is in full sun most of day.

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Comments (8)

annabel__WA
23 years ago
Pansies, Scabious(Granny's pin cushions), Aquilegia(Granny's bonnets), Lupins, depending on how hot/cool it is there, Hollyhocks, Carnations and Pinks, Foxgloves, bulbs like Freesias, Anenomes, Daffs, my mother had these underplanted with her roses. My grandmother had most of these in her patch. I love lupins but can't grow them here as it is too hot and too alkaline, herbs mixed in with the flowers.Just a few suggestions.
ilijasx
23 years ago
Definitely peonies, lilies (not longiflorum - November/Chrismtas lily, but Regal lily, Madonna Lily, Tiger lily), snowflake, lily of the valley, violets, bleeding hearts (dicentra spectabilis), dahlias (hate 'em myself, but others like them,)bearded irises, love in a mist, all sorts of poppies - shirley, opium, icelandic etc,)night-scented tobacco (nicotiana alata), honeysuckle, and many many more. Basically, anything that's got an informal "fluffy" floral sort of look went into the cottage garden. And the trick is not to plant in a formal linear arrangment. Clumps of plants mingling and blending with one another is the trick to cottage gardens.

Hope this helps a bit. The flowers I've listed above are some of the "classic" cottage garden plants.

Ilijas.
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Dianthus, catmint and thymnes are good for under the rose bushes. Lambs ears are great if they can get just a little shade. And daylilies are indestructible.
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Snodge
23 years ago
What's your climate like? Much frost?
Granville44
23 years ago
Annabel - are you in country WA? I'm in the hills and lupins grow like weeds here.

As for cottage plants - all of the above - and shasta daisies look great as do other daisy plants which probably need replacing every 2 -3 years as they can get woody. Heavy pruning helps. Solanum grow well here and spread out along the ground as well.
Snodge
23 years ago
Salvia. Centranthus.
annabel__WA
23 years ago
I'm south of Perth. Lupins grow wild here too on the golf course edges. Apart from the alkaline soil, they can't be imported to WA. I tried and got some two years running from Diggers, but they just did not even grow. I know a lot more, but wonder if it is worth it as we just don't get cold enough weather.
PEBBLES1
23 years ago
Gypsophila (babys breath) - you just throw the seeds around and rake them in lightly - really easy to grow, and look very pretty.

Recommendations for Cottage Gardens

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annabel__WA

ilijasx

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