Plants for a cottage garden border

[PinkCamelias]

I have some space under a south facing wall where I’d love to have a cottage border, continuing the already existing style. From the right, there’s a wisteria, then pink shrub roses, peonies and phlox, then in front of the exposed stretch of the wall more roses (pink and dark red) and peonies, a Japanese spindle (?) and a tree peony. At the end of the border there’s another, white shrub rose.

The strip that I have available for planting is max. 50 cm wide and ca. 3 m long (the wall is a bit more than 2 m high, for scale).

i have so far planned: hollyhocks (dark purple and cream/peach); delphinium (blue, two shades), peach leaf bellflower (purple and white), shrubby sage (apricot), hardy geranium. I don’t think I have space for anymore smaller/filler plants.

Does it sound good? Would you change or add anything? How many of each plant to get?

I never have much luck with delphiniums or hollyhocks are they get eaten by slugs but you might be luckier than me.

Id add in a lavender, some perennial wallflowers and maybe a salvia.

Lupins are very classic cottage garden style as well but I have the same issue with slugs eating them.

You could definitely have a rose climbing along the wall which would look lovely.

Thank you @Girliefriendlikespuppies. I am aware of slugs and I hope that with pellets and wood chips I will be more lucky. Lupins are a good idea to try too.

I am already planting lavender nearby. If I find space in this border, I’ll add it as well!

I wasn’t thinking about a climbing rose, because I have a lot of roses around, but why not? Or maybe a honeysuckle?

I love a cottage garden but don’t have much luck with lupins hollyhocks delphiniums etc. They all get eaten, by slugs or bugs. I was in Sussex last summer and hollyhocks were everywhere, just growing in gardens like weeds, lovely. Maybe I’ve got the wrong soil or it’s not warm enough or too wet. Anyway, I’d pop another rose in there (you can never have too many roses!)

Can you make the border wider? Right up by a wall will be dry….and you could plant more and have taller at the back and shorter at the front….

I have wall envy, what a lovely wall and garden!

Not really! The garden is not very wide. I have a stretch of meadow-y grass in the middle and then another border, with shade loving plants, opposite. I can at most fill in the gaps and underplant the existing shrubs with pinks and the like.

@CandleabraOk, I’ll research the earth and other conditions first then! Here hollyhocks also grow like weeds, they are planted in the streets under the trees and just grow. I’ve never had them though myself. I had delphiniums in my previous house’s garden and one year they were fine, then another they didn’t grow. I guess I’ll try this spring, and if it doesn’t work I’ll plant roses in the autumn.

Thank you @InertBird! It is really lovely and planned very well. It’s my second spring here and I’m carefully adding plants while enjoying the established ones. The walls add a lot of charm!

No need to research the soil if you can see the plants thriving in other gardens. That’s my usual (lazy) way of seeing what would grow well in mine!

Because of slugs, I have salvia, penstemon, hibiscus, daphne, agapanthus.

How about a wall trained fruit tree too….lovely blossom.

Low growing herbs for the edge of the border, useful as well as fragrant and pretty flowers, thyme and marjoram are good for this or osteospermum.
Ground coffee waste and ground egg shells are good slug deterrents. Cafes often have bags of coffee waste foc, pop any egg shells into a tub to completely dry and then crush and sprinkle around the area, they just break down eventually.
Espalier fruit trees on the wall would be a lovely backdrop to it.
Underplant with bulbs that will come through to provide colour in winter and spring when everything has died down.
Japanese anemone provides a cheerful display in the autumn when the summer flowering is fading but it can get quite large.
Happy planning and planting!

An espalier or fan trained fruit tree would look spectacular on that wall

Wallflowers? You can get some lovely colours.

Great advice re slugs, thank you @Trotula ! And herbs - I will plant some thyme for sure. I have Japanese anemones a bit further in a half shady spot, they are so pretty, but quite invasive. I had to dig out many clumps this spring, but I left them where they do not smother other plants.

Scatter forget-me-not seeds all along the border. You'll only ever have to do it the once!

Front of border plants that are very easy, have lovely leaves, flower and avoid the slug problem are Alchemilla Mollies, hardy geranium, geum, heuchera, ajuga.

For the middle and similar virtues I have had success with gaura, astrantia, Michaelmas daisy. Things like echinacea and rudbeckia are good but they do get eaten so I don't grow them.

Crocosmia, monbretia and river lollies are lovely but tend to take over.

I'd definitely try and grow all sorts up that wall, including a winter flowering clematis.

Fruit tree sounds like a great idea. Or a fig tree? That's what I was thinking to plant at the left end of the border, before the white rose bush. You are all suggesting an espalier or fan trained tree, while I imagined a 'normal' tree, though. It would be to use the wall, right? And/or limit the size?

Wallflowers - I didn't know them.I have just googled them, they are very pretty!

Daphne - it is on my list, but to plant closer to the house to appreciate the smell. I can just about find space for it under the roses...

Yes @PinkCameliasit would utilise the wall and save space but also
keep it contained.

I would be careful when using flowers that spread like forget me not or you could find yourself spending hours weeding them out when they take over (ask me how I know 😫).
You could do a rough plan and mark the flowering periods to see if there are any gaps and maybe leave some gaps for bedding or to infill at a later point. The biannuals like wallflowers and antirrinhums are handy and inexpensive and flower fairly early in the season.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/fruit/apples/starting-an-espalier

A fig tree would be very happy against that south-facing wall!

Thanks for all the suggestions, @MerylSqueak . I am checking out these flowers I don't have on a list yet.
@Trotula yes I have forget me nots in the grass, they do spread but are so pretty. Also some kind of cranesbill, doesn't grow tall but spreads like fire.
Good idea about the flowering periods plan - currently the border is amazing in April and May and less attractive in June when the first flush or roses and peonies are finished.

I also have wall envy! How about some Mexican Fleabane for edging, Scabious, Nepeta, definitely hardy geraniums, Astrantia and maybe poppies and cosmos for fillers. Someone earlier suggested a climbing rose, which would look wonderful against the wall. And maybe a clematis to go with it. Where to stop?!

Another one that’s old fashioned but very pretty is sweet Williams.

It's very hard to stop indeed! I bought hollyhocks, delphiniums, bluebells, alchemilla, astrantia, achillea, blue and peach sage, verbena, valeriana, wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve', hardy geraniums and pinks. I will think about a rose or a honeysuckle and a tree in autumn - now I have to muster all my energy top plant these ones when they arrive.