Although this article will give all garden owners modern cottage garden ideas, the examples we using are mostly in the Cotswolds. That’s because we are lucky enough to be based on the edge of The Cotswolds, one of the UK’s designated Areas of Natural Beauty. With its rolling hills, chocolate box villages and houses made of honey-coloured stone, it’s not hard to see why. Anyone visiting a Cotswold village will have been won over by the beautiful gardens.
When we design gardens we are always aware of the impact of the landscape on the design, the two have to be unified. However small the space, a garden should be full of colour and interest, whatever the time of year. It’s an easy effect to recreate in any garden, and here are a few tips and cottage garden ideas pictures to help you do just that.
Cottage garden ideas pictures
We’ve started with a picture, above, from our Gold Award winning RHS Malvern Show Garden 2023. The reason being this garden puts nature at the heart of the garden design. Gardens are of course for people to enjoy, but without wildlife there would be no garden. So when you look for modern cottage garden ideas, please think about all the pollinators, birds and creepy crawlies that make the garden such a vibrant living space!
For more ideas on wildlife gardens and our multi-award winning show garden check out this article here.
Low-maintenance Cottage Garden Ideas – Plants
These days many of us have little time for gardening, whereas unfortunately the traditional cottage garden, although it looks very random and natural, is not that easy to achieve. So for a modern cottage garden look we have to compromise on the higher maintenance plants – avoid plants that need ‘fussing.’ Roses, delphiniums, climbers and annual displays are not low maintenance. But there are lots of alternatives that will give a ‘cottage look’ while more or less taking care of themselves. For example instead of shrub roses, use the beautiful rosa rugosa, as pictured below. With its fragrant, colourful flowers and hips in the autumn. This is a ‘must have plant.’
Instead of using plants that require supports every year, choose alternatives, such as the salvias, pictured here with the easy to grow annual, marigold, it gives a perfect, modern cottage garden look.
Spring bulbs are a mainstay of a modern cottage garden, alliums, planted en-masse in a natural setting require little if any attention to produce a dazzling display year after year.
Creating a wildflower ‘look’ in the modern cottage garden is easy with the use of bulbs. As in the example above, the daffodils are just ‘going over’ but the interest is continued with wood anemones, fritillaries and wild garlic.
Tulips and daffodils are ‘must haves’ in a modern cottage garden. They fit into almost any space and make a colourful display until the summer flowers take over.
As spring turns to autumn. Use hardy annuals that will self-seed every year, such as the hollyhocks and verbena bonariensis pictured above. These love a sunny, gravel pathway to thrive and take no effort to maintain. If they are happy in the spot, they will simply return every year to create a very natural feel in a garden. Many of the plants used in a modern cottage garden can be enjoyed not only outside but can be cut for indoors. For more ideas on plants for cutting see our article here.
Modern Cottage Garden Ideas – Paths
Most gardens need a pathway of some sort, and it doesn’t take much effort to mow a pathway through a borders with hardy annuals, or easy perennials, such as the Oxeye daisy above and longer grasses.
The pathway leading to the main entrance of your home should be hardstanding for ease of access, however, easy, low-maintenance plants, such as geums and echinacea can be planted alongside to create an attractive greeting for visitors to your home.
Elsewhere in the garden, local gravel is a good pathway to use in a modern cottage garden, with the same principle of plants spilling over the edges, to soften and invite exploration. In this case, nepeta (cat mint) and the perennial geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’ have been used in succession to guide the visitor gently into the garden.
Modern Cottage Gardens Ideas for Water Features
Water in a modern cottage garden will add a different dimension. For wildlife it’s the best thing you can introduce. The pond we designed and built above was created for people and wildlife in mind. There is a paddling platform for the owners to cool off on hot days and a ramp for hedgehogs and other little mammals who accidentally take a dip!
It doesn’t have to be a large or complicated pond to attract birds, as in the lovely garden we created above to attract swallows. Below is a small water feature just enough for this little chap to enjoy.
We’re fining that corten steel is a popular choice for modern cottage garden design and very easy to maintain. In the example below, we created a simple water feature in corten steel, to compliment the honey stone of the cottage. It fits in well with the natural planting around at the same time as giving a contemporary feel.
Small cottage garden ideas
You don’t have to have acres of land to achieve a cottage garden look.
This garden is in central Oxford, where space is at a premium. When we first met the clients had just moved into the house and were planning to have a garden building of some sort installed prior to the garden being constructed. Their style is very informal and they didn’t want anything very contemporary, although they imagined that the building would be contemporary so the brief was to create a garden that merged the two spaces without it being too ‘classical’ in style. A modern cottage garden best describes the garden they envisaged. They very much like cottage planting, spring bulbs, and herbs. They wanted some sort of water feature for the soothing sound of water and ideally for fish. It’s amazing what you can achieve in a small space! This small, modern cottage garden, complete with pergola and swing manages to combine family living with informal style. Every space is used for purpose…even the roof of the building is a host to plants.
Cottage Garden Ideas on a Budget
Creating a charming cottage garden on a budget is absolutely achievable with a bit of creativity and resourcefulness. Look around your home for items that can be repurposed in the garden. Old crates, barrels, or even broken pots can add a rustic charm to your garden without costing anything. Gardeners tend to be a thrifty lot! Instead of buying new plants, propagate your own seeds. Many plants can be easily multiplied through cuttings or division and gardeners tend to swap seeds with each other. Sweet peas tend to be a ‘must have’ plant in any cottage garden and you can grow them easily from seed in old loo paper rolls, saving money on pots.
Keep an eye out for sales at local nurseries or garden centres for discount plants that are out of season or slightly imperfect, but perfectly viable for your garden. If you’re gardening on a budget, NEVER buy plants that are in full flower and looking amazing or you’ll pay a premium for them. Garden shows are a great place to pick up bargain plants and tools. If you wait till the end of the show when the show gardens are being dismantled, you can get the plants at a fraction of the normal cost.
Invest in perennial plants that will come back year after year, saving you money on replanting annually. Look for varieties that spread easily, reducing the need to buy multiple plants. To bulk them up use annuals, such as the Californian poppies (yellow and orange below) nigella, or nicotiana.
Make your own compost to enrich the soil in your garden beds. Additionally, using organic mulch, such as leaves or grass clippings, helps retain moisture and suppress weeds. For more information on how to make compost at home see our article here.
Cottage garden border layout
Think of your garden as a room and the flowers as the wallpaper. You probably wouldn’t stick up lots of different wallpaper in the same room and the principle applies to planning your cottage garden border layout. In a room with flowers, stick to a simple palette of two or three colours. Purples and pinks create a soft, romantic feel, while a bed in shades of blue and yellow will be more striking. If you want to be bold, go for contrasting colours, such as these vivid red Crocosmia ‘lucifer’ with the yellow of heleniums.
Cottage gardens typically have a layered look with taller plants at the back gradually tapering down to shorter plants at the front. This creates a sense of depth and interest. Place taller plants like hollyhocks towards the back and shorter plants like daisies or lavender towards the front. If your border is long enough, consider adding a meandering pathway through the garden. This not only provides access for maintenance but also adds to the charm and invites exploration.
Incorporate some structural elements such as trellises, arbors, or obelisks to add vertical interest and support climbing plants like roses or clematis.
Aim for year-round interest by including plants that bloom at different times of the year and have varying foliage colours and textures. This ensures your garden looks attractive throughout the seasons. Winter is an important season too and it’s perfectly possible to have a garden that looks just as good in winter as in summer by using topiary and evergreen plants, as in the example below that we designed and landscaped for all seasons.
Embrace the slightly wild and informal nature of a cottage garden. Avoid overly formal shapes and designs. Let plants spill over onto pathways and allow for a bit of controlled chaos.
How do you make a simple cottage garden?
Many people are opting for a more naturalistic look to their gardens these days and wildflower meadows are very popular way to make a simple cottage garden. A wildflower meadow is a wonderful part of any garden for a display that changes throughout the year. We find that for the most reliable results specially prepared wildflower turf is best to use. The downside is it comes at a cost, so, if you’re on a budget, use wildflower seed on soil that has been prepared and is weed free. For more advice on how to do this read our article on how to create a wildflower garden here.
Plant bulbs for an extra pop of colour and to make sure there’s something to see in every season – crocuses and snowdrops will be the first flowers followed by daffodils and tulips bring spring cheer and camassias, as in the above example will extend the season well into May.
What is the colour scheme for cottage gardens?
Modern cottage gardens typically feature a vibrant and diverse colour scheme that reflects the charm and informality of traditional English gardens. In the example below, in theory, the clash of colour between the pink foxgloves and yellow day lilies shouldn’t work. But nature is forgiving and the informality of the style of a modern cottage garden makes a good combination.
Soft pastel shades such as pale pinks, blues, yellows, and purples create a gentle and romantic atmosphere. Flowers like roses, delphiniums, foxgloves, and sweet peas are often used to achieve this delicate palette.
Bold and bright colours add energy and vibrancy to cottage gardens. This can include fiery reds, sunny yellows, rich oranges, and deep purples. Flowers like dahlias, salvias, yellow lupins, nepeta (cat mint) and verbena bonariensis contribute to the lively colour scheme above. The dahlia (Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’) is in a pot because it is not reliably hardy in the Cotswolds, where we do much of our planting.
A classic combination of colour for a cottage garden is white flowers against a backdrop of green foliage, which provides a timeless and elegant look. We use hydrangea ‘Annabelle’ a lot for this look. A good alternaitve is ‘Limelight’ and both prefer a shady spot to put on an elegant background display.
What are the characteristics of a cottage garden?
The main characteristics of a cottage garden is the charming, informal, and romantic aesthetic. They are designed to evoke a sense of nostalgia and reflect the traditional gardening practices of rural communities. A modern cottage garden, in its true essence, retains these characteristics with a contemporary twist. The trend in garden design is heading towards a naturalistic style, we are becoming more tolerant of plants previous generations might have considered ‘weeds.’ These aquilegias (ladies bonnets), primulas (cow slips), forget-me- nots and honesty, along with their charmingly traditional names, nestle cheek by jowl for attention and create a lovely picture for people and wildlife to enjoy – side by side.
