Cottage garden design and plants

[way2serious]

We have just had part of our garden re done and I want to sort out our old and overgrown flower beds but know very little about plants and gardening. We live in a cottage and the garden is surround by high walls / fences so limited sunlight at times. We have a series of raised beds with plants / shrubs in that seem to go a bit mad every summer. Can someone recommend a pottage of English cottage garden plants and flowers and are there any apps or websites where you can design your garden selecting the plants etc to go in the beds.

hope that makes sense.

Your project sounds exciting! I recommend doing some research first. The RHS website is an excellent resource: RHS Cottage Garden Plants. They also offer a plant finder tool to help you choose plants based on environmental factors and plant preferences.

When planning your beds, consider plant combinations and blooming times. For example, bulbs for spring, lavender etc for summer, and plants with attractive autumn foliage or late flowers like asters or anemones. Astrantia is a favourite of mine, as its dried flowers can remain in place through winter. Unfortunately planting design can quickly become very complicated.

Books are helpful,'Cottage gardens' will likely be a chapter within so check your local library’s gardening section so you can just photograph the info (planting plans) you need. The library's garden section might be sparse this time of year. Also search for 'cottage garden planting plans' online.

Lastly, buying plants at garden centres can be pricey. A lot of cottage garden type planting can be grown from seed. If you have a large list it might be better value to get a propagator, cold frame and start growing some of them from seed for next year. Hope that helps.🙂

Here's a video. It says that it is about contemporary cottage garden design and she is talking to an Aussie but the rules are fairly universal. Have a look at what plants your neighbours have - if it works for them then they will probably work for you, too.
A cottage garden is supposed to have a fruit tree. As well as the obvious (fruit!) it gives a garden height and early flowers, in the form of blossom. A cottage garden also makes the most of high fences and walls (including the house walls) by having lots of climbers.