Cottage garden, hopeless gardener, help appreciated

[Tobuyornot99]

Hello, we've recently bought a house with a beautiful cottage type garden, lots of hydrangea bushes, hardy fuchsias, ferns, daisies, absolutely lovely. I'm hoping to put a few more plants in the front borders, so nothing too high, and in keeping with the mature plants, something fairly low maintenance that comes every year, any tips as to what please? Also, the back wall is a bit of a let down compared to the rest of the lovely garden - would you paint it / attach some trellis and try to encourage climbers / something else? This is our forever home and I'm a keen, if inexperienced gardener, and I'd love to have a wow garden like my Nans of my childhood. Any help very much appreciated.

yes i would cover that asap. id get wires put in properly and get some climbers in there.

Thanks Alternative, what would you suggest for something quite vigorous? All I know really is wisteria, honeysuckle etc. Wold you paint it a nice soft muted colour first? Really appreciate any advice!

id paint it black. then look at some scented or evergreen and scented climbers that suit the area and soil.

Lovely garden! Looks like you get some decent sun in there too.

Id put up some trellis over the back well and grow a combination of clematis through it. Maybe an armandii for evergreen coverage, and a Montana for summer flowers? The Montana is perennial so will keep coming back. The armandii also had beautiful spring flowers.

If you're looking for a cottage garden feel, there are loads of options for perennials. Lupins are very hardy (but you need to mind the slugs!) and delphinium will go well with the hydrangeas. Hardy geraniums require very little effort and are quite lovely. They can be planted to spill over flowerbeds and soften the feel of landscaping.

Id recommend having a look online at perennial plants and the gardeners world forum is great for tips

Thanks Princess we are lucky to get loads of sun, it's what sold the house to us. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll be off to the garden centre to stock up! Do you think wooden trellises or wires? Sorry to be such a novice! I'm in awe of people like you who just know things and have this gardening instinct.

Alternative are you teasing me about painting it black? I just can't imagine it in my head, wouldn't it be quite dark and overpowering whilst waiting for climbers to grow? Although I could be completely wrong of course.

No worries... I took on a mature garden a couple of years ago with no knowledge of anything garden-related, but it's easy to pick up as you go along and now I very much enjoy it

Personally, I prefer wood trellising and then it can be painted the same colour as the fence to blend in. Black fencing is quite trendy, but I'm not sure it works with a cottage garden look - the Cuprinol shades are lovely. Especially 'Willow' or one in a clay-type colour. Quite pricey though. Plain old timber stain does the job, and you can't go far wrong with brown

It's worth having a look at local nurseries rather than big garden centre chains of you're buying quite a few bits too. You'll often find something a bit more special, and the owners can give you great advice. Tends to be cheaper too!

Happy gardening!

Nope - black helps disguise anything and makes all the plants look fantastic.

www.google.co.uk/search?q=black+walls+in+gardens&client=firefox-b&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjin_LzkvzUAhWoJcAKHXPlCCEQ_AUICigB&biw=1680&bih=844

I second black. It sort of disappears but make makes your planting stand out.

Cuprinol shades sticks to pretty much anything . I bet it would do breeze block too. How about a vigorous blue? Would be uplifting in winter and go with the hydrangeas in summer (lucky you having them come out blue naturally. In London they require bucketfuls of aluminium sulphate to do that. If hydrangeas are happy so might crocosmia and agapanthus be.

I'd aim for some winter interest as well. Perhaps a winter jasmine against the wall. How about an old fashioned climbing rose with a lovely scent.
Hollyhocks like a dry sunny spot and poor soil. They are the quintessential cottage garden flower, also pinks ( different sizes and shzdes) for another traditional sweet smelling plant.
Personally I wouldn't paint the wall, if my aim was to cover with plants.

Thank you all for your advice, really appreciated! (very soon hopefully )

We've painted the wood in our garden black and it makes a great backdrop for planting and really makes the black disappear remarkably quickly and the greenery pop out.
Ours is a very natural looking garden, can't really call it a cottage garden as its 1.5acres but it's that kind of style not modern or edgy in anyway and it looks perfect.

I think dark colours make things bigger/disappear - lighter colours bring things 'forward' if that makes sense

Great garden!
Vinca major/periwinkle, pinks, poppies, geranium would look good over the walls (not necessarily all of them...colour clash!)