The popularity of English cottage gardens has increased as more people search for environmentally friendly substitutes for immaculate lawns and gardens. In this garden design, a cottage garden full of a lush, disheveled mixture of perennials, annuals, roses, and billowy decorative grasses is combined with formal English garden elements, such as hedges planted in straight lines and sharp evergreen accents.
The mixed border is the most recognizable aspect of an English cottage garden. These expansive beds are filled with a variety of shrubs, decorative grasses, annuals, and perennials. They may be more difficult to execute than they seem, but they’re a lovely, well-organized mess.
“There’s a thin line separating a gorgeous, realistic planting and a bloody mess,” remarks Tom Coward, head gardener at Gravetye Manor, a famous hotel in Britain situated on the old estate of Victorian wild garden advocate William Robinson in the 19th century.
According to Coward, having a strategy is essential to producing a diverse border that seems untamed, organic, and unplanned. Continue reading for his professional advice on creating gorgeous mixed borders by skillfully fusing classic English garden design concepts with the ageless informality of cottage style gardens.
- Establish the Color Scheme
According to Coward, the goal is to create the appearance of a natural color palette. You may utilize color theory freely since nature arranges plants in ways that humans could only imagine. He advises choosing your color scheme based on how colors clash and work well together. Next, choose plants that complement the color scheme you have selected.
Because blue and orange flowers are opposites, Coward will combine plants with them at Gravetye and add some pink blooms for “a little bit of a clash,” he adds. “It’s enjoyable, but a little contentious.” He has used similar color schemes of yellow, orange, and pink as well as triadic schemes of orange, purple, and green.
“Try something new,” he advises. According to Coward, you may employ a variety of color schemes—even striking ones—because the background’s general shade of green will bring everything together.
- Textures of Layered Leaf
Select plants that have varying leaf textures. According to Coward, “a variety of textures gives a border a sense of movement, so texture is more important than color.” “A mixed border’s appearance is greatly influenced by movement.”
The size of a plant’s leaves determines its texture. Plants with broad leaves, such as heuchera, lamb’s ear, or lady’s mantle, provide coarse texture, whilst daylilies, yarrow, and decorative grasses contribute fine texture. Medium-textured plants, such as azaleas, euphorbias, and irises, are included.
To add extra visual impact to your border, mix different leaf textures. Your garden will look excellent with a decent variety of textures whether or not it is in bloom, according to Coward. Texture is a difficult design concept to understand or see. Coward advises taking a black-and-white picture of your border so you can better see the textures of the leaves. If the black-and-white image lacks sufficient texture, add additional plants with larger leaves. He advises, “Don’t be afraid to adjust your design by moving plants around each season.”
- Use self-seeding plants
Including plants that will drop seeds and come back on their own is one of the simplest methods to get that desired wild aspect in your garden. They may be perennials or annuals. Consider using asters, lupine, poppies, coneflowers, zinnias, calendula, cosmos, or poppies. A self-sustaining population of plants may provide a realistic touch to a formal planting, according to Coward. “That wild aspect adds a lot of beauty and significance to the garden because it creates irregularities.” Additionally, as the flowers self-plant, you will have a bit less work to do.
- Incorporate trees and shrubs
Large clusters of decorative grasses, trees, and shrubs provide a background for the textures and colors of the varied border. According to Coward, “Woody material is so important.” “It provides you with structure for the entire year.” The architecture of the garden is provided by the trees and bushes, even when nothing else is in flower.
Some trees, grasses, and shrubs are referred to as “anchor plants” by Coward. He employs heathers, roses, and azaleas as anchor plants at Gravetye. The boundaries “would be really flat without those plants,” he claims. “You could argue that a garden is incomplete without shrubs.”
- Arrange For Tender Annuals
After spring blossoms have gone, plant full-grown sensitive perennials in the yard to keep your mixed flower beds and borders full with flowers. According to Coward, this gives your blended borders a more opulent effect. At Gravetye, Coward and his crew plant salvias and cannas in late spring to fill in the spaces left by the mixed borders. In mid- to late-summer, they collect cuttings or divisions, which they store in the greenhouse for the next year when they transplant.
- Edit Instead of Weeding
Think about leaving plants that grow naturally—plants that some people may classify as weeds. You make the decision; it’s your garden. Coward adds, “I call it editing; some call it weeding.” “The boundary between unwanted and weedy is really thin. Oftentimes, a weed is merely a plant in the incorrect location.
Think about letting the fleabane or zinnias that sprang up in the center of your roses as they could enhance the look of your wild garden. According to Coward, “open yourself to the idea that every plant has its own beauty.” The unexpected plants may contribute to the untamed, haphazard look that defines the traditional mixed border.
- Learn About Your Garden
Before you plant anything in a newly created garden, observe what plants emerge in the spring and summer. Coward advises, “If you have a new garden, don’t do anything for at least a year.” “Observe the garden, take note of its lessons, and discover what is already there.”
To ensure you plant the proper plants in the right locations, pay attention to the amount of light your garden gets as well. Keep an eye on the drainage of the soil. You may choose plants more wisely if you are aware of the planting area.
“You’ll be better off in the long run if you go slow and have patience, but you can shovel a load of annuals into your garden in an hour and they look wonderful right away,” advises Coward. “Take your time and get it right; a garden is an ongoing project.”
- Lessons from Errors
As you explore with these English cottage garden ideas, don’t be hesitant to try new plants and designs. “Enjoy and embrace plants,” advises Coward. “Experiment and play with them without fear.” So go ahead and plant that new kind of coneflower, add the unknown vining rose you picked up at the plant exchange, and see if any of the seeds sprout?
Coward advises, “Try things and react to them.” “You’ve learnt something if what you planted or did looks excellent. You’ve made a mistake and gained more knowledge if the garden seems worse. Enjoy yourself and don’t worry about making a mistake since you can always redo and redesign a garden.
“A garden is an ever-evolving living organism. Seasons affect it. The weather affects it. The light causes it to shift. Enjoy hearing the tale the plants are giving you; after all, we’re always dealing with a living thing.