If you are keen on English charm of past centuries, then Cottage garden is the right garden for you. It could be a nice place, where you and your guests could relax – its abundance will provide for that atmosphere! Besides, you would be able to harvest fruits and vegetables that you grew with your own hands, applying your own skills.

Cottage gardens used to be a vegetable supplier for common people. But not only! Colorful cabbages and eggplant‘s cute violet flowers (to name usual examples) can make it even quite decorative.

Even if you don’t have much experience with roses, you just have to venture this step and plant some in your cottage garden. Because their beauty is really worth that! Besides, there is nothing complicated about caring roses! Cut them back in fall and they will flourish even better the coming season. Roses make beautiful compositions if planted as a hedge or in small groups – islands; espalier trained roses look also pretty when placed in entrance areas.

The original English cottage garden used to be equipped with a bee-hive. Its busy bees not only pollinated fruit tree blossoms, but also wandered from one flower to another and produced the sweetest honey for their owners.

A classic cottage garden should be a kitchen garden above all, as it supplies fruits, vegetables and herbs. Besides, it´s featured by flowers filling every gap appearing in it. As you see, there are no strict rules – you can plant everything you like!

Normally, you may find clematis, delphinium, foxglove, sun cup, iris, poppy, dahlia, lupine, calendula, violets, dog daisy, forget-me-not and many other blossoming herbs. All bulb plants, including bulb onions, garlic, tulips, ornamental onion, lady´s mantle and aquilegia are also included.

A shed normally constructed of natural stone or bricks with cottage garden all around it is called cottage and gives the respective name to the garden. Surely, not everybody can afford such a shed, but you can lend it that cottage charm by applying only few tricks. Coziness is the key!

If you combine brick or natural stone walls with climbing, growing rank plants, you’ll manage it! This combination appears somehow savage and full of romantic, just like in English fairytales about elves and fairies… Don´t worry if cracks develop. Thus, moss can settle there and a patina will occur emphasizing that charming impression.

To decorate your cottage garden, you will need some experience in flowers. Since many of native hardy plants only endure one to two years, you´ll be able to vary your arrangement frequently.

Additional highlights can be set through flower bed borders, rank and decoration elements made of natural materials like small wooden fences, box and hedges. Everything should be rampant – that’s the clue!

Spread pebble or bricks over the paths in your garden for decoration. To achieve more swing, you may also lay them in a herringbone pattern.