What would you plant to create a 'Cottage Garden'?

[AlwaysOnAbloodyDiet]

I'll probably have to wait until the lockdown is over, so just dreaming of ideas

So the idea is... a mix of colours, informal, no structure, no order? Well, obviously taller perennials at the back?

Any ideas? Is it just a case of packing them all in?

I'm thinking delphiniums (although I read that they only last 2-3 years)?, foxgloves, Lavender, Roses.

No idea, but following for ideas!

Hollyhocks
Lupins
Delphiniums
Cat mint (nepeta "6 hills giant" is fab)
Fennel
Verbena bonariensis
Peonies
Roses
Geranium
Scabious

Hollyhocks
Roses
Scabious
Lupins
Peonies
Fennel
Delphiniums

Traditionally veg interspersed with planting using Marigolds to help near carrots.

Taller plants and/or clump forming plants at the back. You can plant tall but 'see through' plants (like verbena bonariensis) wherever.

I forgot - sweet pea wigwam(s) are a must!

NB you don't necessarily have to have the tall things at the back.. plants like verbena that are kind of wispy and see through can go at the front

I do have a cottage with a typical cottage garden, and I have a lot of roses ! Fruit trees, lilac, honeysuckle, clematis, redcurrants , blackcurrants, raspberries, rhubarb.
In the borders along with roses I have paeonies, tall scabious, Bear’s britches, various alliums, astrantia, poppies, and all sorts of other flowers with a mixture of heights and colours. Foxgloves are the wild sort and seed in different places each year. I have yellow Buddleia, and Buddleia , black elder, and other shrubs. I also have wild bluebells. A mix of wildflowers, roses, shrubs, other flowers, and fruit are essential for a cottage garden.

Homebase do something called 'garden on a roll' which has several different themes. It's basically a few meters worth of planting scheme they charge over the odds for and tell you how to plant it but It tells you the plants included and im sure English country garden or cottage garden is on there/ take a look for inspiration.
Off the top of my head I would say azaleas, lupins, begonias, lots of trailing plants, roses etc

That should say “and Buddleia Globosa” i typed it, but the Globosa disappeared.

Self seeders are Honesty, borage, for get me nots, aquilegia, achillia, valerian.

Peonies, roses, honey suckle.

This is great. Thank you

Also look at Dame's violet.
Trouble free, fills loads of space, smells divine

i'm pretty sure crocus.co.uk have a option for 'cottage garden' with lots of nice pictures. they can be expensive but it is a useful place to look for ideas.

Foxgloves are highly poisonous, as in fatal poisonous, if a child has a nibble of the leaves so bear that in mind if you have children/grandchildren/garden is accessible for children.

When I think ‘cottage garden’, I think of perennial things like roses, honeysuckles, lavenders, scabious, perennial cornflower, primroses, verbena bonariensis, gaura, lupine, Geum, catmint, salvia, Veronica, gladioli, dianthus, pelargoniums (perennial for me down south), geraniums, coreopsis, bee balm and annuals like sweet peas, marigolds, sweet alyssum, lobelia, poached egg plants, cornflowers, poppies

Poppies need the soil disturbed to germinate so you might need to rake the soil surface lightly.

@SirVixofVixHall could you tell me if the buddleia globosa attracts butterflies like the purple type. I bought one last year which grew tall and have taken many cuttings which have all easily taken. I don't want to plant them all if it doesn't attract butterflies.

Thank you, I'm noting everything.
I do have children, well, not quite so little anymore - my youngest is 5. Others are a few years older. And although I think he'd be massively insulted if I asked or reminded him not to eat a plant, I guess you can never take that chance. So thank you for that reminder, I've removed them from my notes

Don’t forget to plant for winter too. Lots of plants produce amazing seed heads to give interest through the year.
Best ones,
Valerian
Caraway
Angelica
Japanese anemone
Peacock grass
Honesty
Acatea.
Feath grass Karl Foerster.

Also check our Piet Oudolf and Beth Chatto and the Gardens at Great Dextor for ideas.

I agree that you don’t have to plant tall stuff at the back, aim more for undulations and rhythm. Look at Autumn flowering plants like Chrysanthemum for the middle which will shine through when the shorter flowers start to die back.

Does anyone have suggestions for roses in a cottage garden? I'd love a blousey climber. FiL says the David Austins don't grow where I live.

Does anyone have suggestions for roses in a cottage garden?

I have Arthur bell and love them.
They are a lovely sunny yellow and very strongly fragranced.
I have the bush version but there is a climbing one too

So the idea is... a mix of colours, informal, no structure, no order?
Remember that you are going for a 'back to nature' vibe so look for native plants and no showy F1 hybrids.
I think you want a riot of colour, no 'tasteful' white gardens.
Some rustic wooden construction (arch, trellis, pergola, etc) for climbing plants would be lovely.

Buddleia globosa attracts hundreds of butterflies. We had a very large one in our previous house and I'm still really sad that we didn't take more cuttings. It was always covered.

Good, I have about 8 growing from cuttings!

A climbing rose would be nice if you have a wall, OP.
I have Rosa glauca which doesn't need staked or at least not on my poor soil. It could go at the back of the border. But is t a blowsy perfumed rose.

If you rule out poisonous plants you rule out very large numbers of them ! Many common garden flowers are toxic. Better to teach children what they can and can’t eat.

Has anyone said bleeding hearts? So pretty- saw one on my walk today and realised what I was missing. I used to have an all white one.

Although if you have puppies, or the sort of dog that eats plants, you need to be extra cautious. Rhododendrons are very toxic to dogs, as are many bulbs if they chew on them.

Rosa officianalis , bright pink , glorious fragrance.