I have always been drawn to the charm of a cottage garden. When watching the Holiday it was the tiny English cottage I found dreamy, not the massive estate in Los Angelos (and I know so many of you can relate). My birthday trip to Europe last year, which included three days in The Cotswolds, firmly solidified my love for the cottage garden. I came back to the states bound and determined to make our little corner of the world feel like a walk through those charm filled streets. We have only gotten a small portion of our backyard overhaul done, but you’re loving that small part just as much as we are; which is why I’m sharing our layout and plantings today so you can achieve a similar look in your own yard, if you so choose!
The list below is the plantings we used in our garden. We wanted options that would attract birds, bees and butterflies, mixed with some evergreen. We’re in zone 10 for plantings, you’ll see some plants we picked fall outside our zone, but we discussed it with nursery and those options tend to still be resilient here.
Our Plants & Their Zones
- Privet (zones 3-10)
- Purple Agapanthus (zone 8-11)
- Green Beauty Boxwood (zones 5-9)
- Salvia Waverly (zones 8-11)
- Iceberg Roses (zones 4-10)
- White Panicle Hydrangea (zones 3-8)
- Gardenia (zones 8-11)
- Star Jasmine (zones 7-11)
- Alyssum Ground Cover (zones 5-9)
It was important to me that we stayed within a small color palette of greens, purples and whites. I wanted a lot of different texture and movement, but did not want it to feel overwhelming. The limited color story allows that desire to be realized.
The Gardenia, Jasmine, and Rose shrubs are very fragrant while the others are pleasant smelling, but not showy with their fragrance.
The overall smell in the garden when everything’s in bloom is delicious. Sweet, without being obnoxious. Matthew worried the yard would be “boring” if we stuck to such a limited color palette but now he loves it.
Next the layout! I wanted structure like a proper English garden, but movement like a proper cottage garden. We achieved this creating two beds mirroring one another flanking a gravel dining zone. The beds have structured corners and soft rounding interior walls. See the below sketch for reference. The pavers in the center provide so much texture and the most satisfying crunch underfoot!
Every two squares on the graph paper equates to 15 inches. The bump out on the left of sketch represents our bay window. There garden could not be centered on it for reasons beyond out control.
The next image is the same overhead sketch as seen above, but it includes the plantings drawn into approximate place. See the key below sketch to interpret where we planted each item.
KEY
- P- Privet
- H- Hydrangea
- R- Rose
- RT- Rose Tree
- A- Agapanthus
- S- Salvia
- T- Topiary (petite cone shaped boxwoods)
- C- Climbing Rose
- G- Gardenia
- Not on the key- the boxwoods which outline the entirety of the beds to create a border and the alyssum ground cover that is scattered through the beds.
Garden before and after video below:
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We hope this post helps you bring your very own magical cottage garden to life!
