Can you get a zero effort cottage garden??!!

[jimswifein1964]

Ok, well not zero effort, I'd concede to a bit of mowing and weeding ;)
But what I would like is some flowers that look cottagy and remind me of my Nan, which would just come back year after year like daffs do!
And are there any great evergreen shrubs that are a)cheap and b) fast growing? We have bamboo which I love (altho its black bamboo but never went black )
Lastly, our front appears to be composed mainly of sand and buried rubble ; will anything grow in there? We have half a hedge, then it just stops!

Thank you for any suggestions

I've just started gardening - so prob no help whatsoever but all the books say easy maintenance gardeners should avoid a cottage garden style! Cherry Laurel is a good, cheap evergreen shrub which can make a hedge. Also Aucuba. Depends what kind of height you want I guess?

Our garden soil is abysmal and we were advised by garden centre to add lots of well rotted manure to improve it. We have loads of buried rubble too which I'm slowly trying to remove but is back breaking!

I had a surprise zero effort display from poppyseed breadcrumbs which I threw for the birds. Lots of mixed poppies took from the seed.

Thanks for those. Gentleotter, hello - actually, we had some rogue things in the lawn after ds1 decided the birds would prefer their seeds at ground level rather than in a feeder

Smashing; we found a full pane of glass buried in our ground! I'm going to google those ideas, thanks.

Perennials are what you need, they come back year after year. I've just moved and have a completely blank garden, but what I usually try and do is have some evergreen shrubs for year round plants and perennials that come up through the year. They usually have a couple of months in flower, so check when they do and have some that flower say, may-july and others from say june to august. I also plant low growing ground cover plants - alpines are a good source, to cut down on bare ground that weeds can grow in. Hollyhocks, lupins and foxgloves are good cottage garden plants that spring up every year.

Join your local gardening society - they often have plant swaps at this time of year and that'll be the best clue to what grows well in your soil conditions.

Another minimal effort option is to buy those packets of mixed annuals - just chuck them on the bed and you'll have plenty of colour this year and possibly next if things self-seed. But for ongoing minimal effort, reliable perennials and shrubs are your best bet.

How long has your black bamboo been in? I'm sure I read somewhere that it doesn't go black until a year or so after you plant it.

Peonies are great for coming back year after year. Mine (inherited - they were already established when we bought the house) are emerging at quite a pace - I reckon they're putting on a good 4ins a week at the moment, and will start to flower by May.

This year I am growing some Dianthus (pinks), which are very cottagey and apparently perennial. Also delphiniums, which I try every year with limited success as the slugs love them, but they are apparently perennial too. Antirrhinums (snapdragon) are both cottagey and fairly persistent. I second hollyhocks (though I have an irrational dislike of them), lupins and foxgloves.

I'm aiming to get some height and fragrance from sweet peas, and have also bought some 'Mongolian Giant' sunflower seeds, which can apparently grow 12-14ft tall. We have a railway line at the bottom of our garden and I wanted to cheer up the commuters :)

I love sunflowers, but they're buggers to cut down and get rid of when they're done!

If you're going for ramshackled and flowers all over the place, maybe get some that self seed easily as well as the perenials. Like forget-me-nots, hollyhocks, verbena, oxeye daisies etc

Poached egg plants never seem to die, Cosmos, cornflowers, Roses really don't take that much looking after and they come year after year. I second peonys and forget-me-nots. You can buy cottage garden flower seed mix if you are feeling really lazy.. just sprinkle it around and wait.

HTH

aquilegia - perennial, will self-seed so it spreads quickly, and classic cottage garden flower.

Ah, thank you all.

Ladywellian, the bamboo has been in well over 4 years !

I did indeed do a random-chuck-of-odd-seeds today, from packets we 've had as freebies etc, so will see what happens. Only confined to the ex-herb garden area

I adore lupins and hollyhocks.

I do indeed need some major groundcover in certain areas. You're all really helping me clarify my thoughts. Much work is needed at the front, but its really all sand under the 'lawn' . When the plum and apple trees are in bloom/fruit , it looks much better, but I don't really have anything to see me through winter, other than my bamboo.

We have a wisteria at the back of the garden that looks like it's on it's last legs, so I'm guessing it doesnt like the conditions?

The wisteria may perk up if you feed it and prune it, but make sure you follow the Royal Horticultural Society advice on how and when, because if you overdo it (as my neighbours do every year) you won't get any flowers.

I'd suggest that the first year will require some effort but after that a number of flowers will self seed. You'll also have to battle a few weeds but these generally don't worry me. Stephanie Donaldson has written a nice article on her organic garden blog on cottage gardens here :
blog.theenduringgardener.com/cottage-gardens/
Take a look at this for some inspiration and best of luck.

Alpine strawberries good for ground cover.
Herbs such as lavender, sage, marjoram etc. like a bit of neglect
Wilkos do bare root perennials such as bleeding heart and globe thistle.
Love in a mist (Nigella) is good ground cover, and Ice plant (Sedum) is fairly indestructible despite my persistent neglect
Houseleek likes gravelly well drained soil too.