Cottage Garden Combinations

This informal crowding of a wide variety of plants is a signature feature and the mix of perennial and annual flowers with vegetable and foliage plants twining around each other and competing for attention is what makes a cottage garden so fascinating.

Cottage garden combinations. The furniture doesn t have to match. My plants need to pay rent. Some folks favor soft pastels but linda says she gets more oomph from strong color combinations. The cottage garden is a distinct style that uses informal design traditional materials dense plantings and a mixture of ornamental and edible plants.

Cottage gardens may lack huge sweeps of flowers but color is still prominent often year round. Part of the charm is how informal it is. Instead look for adirondack wicker or painted metal shellback chairs. An eclectic mix fits right in.

Plants to consider include cleome cleome hassleriana sweet alyssum lobularia maritima bachelor s buttons centaurea cyanus larkspur consolida ambigua and calendula calendula officinalis. These romantic plants are must haves for a romantic cottage style garden. Cottage garden style is all about soft lines heirloom varieties and unstructured flower beds. Add a little romance to your outdoor space.

If you let these plants set and drop seed you ll have the serendipitous plant combinations that typify cottage garden chaos. English in origin it depends on grace and charm rather than grandeur and formal structure. Cottage gardens traditionally have plant beds by the house packed tight with plants.