Cottage garden: The best plants & tips for creating

A cottage garden can be a real dream if you set it up correctly and choose the right plants. You can find out how best to proceed here.

It invites you to dream, is romantic, wild and simply beautiful - the cottage garden makes the heart of most garden lovers beat faster. Above all, the mixture of ornamental and useful plants that grow close together, as well as the interaction between the different plants characterize the cottage garden. But the natural layout without rigid topiary and English lawns also ensures that the cottage garden is so popular. Here we show you which plants are best suited for the cottage garden and how to proceed when creating them.

Cottage garden: The best plants

Anyone who creates a cottage garden is faced with an almost endless selection of plants. In addition to the typical vegetables such as tomato,

paprika, kohl or salads, fruit trees and the classic herb bed numerous ornamental plants make up the diversity of the cottage garden. You can find out here which ten plants should not be missing under any circumstances.

10. bluebells

Every year the bluebell (campanula) for a veritable sea of ​​blossoms. A multitude of small bell-shaped flowers that shine in colors from white to intense blue make the plant an enchanting eye-catcher. But not only people are enthusiastic about the bellflower - it is also one of them bee friendly plants and attracts all sorts of beneficial creatures.

Tip: With an insect friendly seed mix like this Plantura beneficial insect magnet, provide a habitat and food for numerous beneficial insects.

9. lady's mantle

Empty beds and bare soil are not particularly desirable in any garden. Fortunately there is ground cover, which not only ensure beautiful, green beds, but also suppress weeds and thus save the gardener a lot of work. Also the lady's mantle (Alchemilla mollis) is excellent for use as a ground cover. With its uncomplicated and robust nature, the plant is perfect for the cottage garden. At the same time, the plant also impresses visually with its dense, green foliage and light yellow flowers.

8. peonies

Durable, robust and simply beautiful - the peony (Paeonia lactiflora) has everything a plant needs for a cottage garden. The large, radiant flowers and the wonderfully intense fragrance make the plant so popular. But the plant is not only a great eye-catcher when it flowers in May and June, because the plant also impresses in autumn a great play of colours: From an orange-red to almost violet leaf colouring, the peony remains a great one here too eye catcher.

7. jewelry basket

The jewelry basket (Cosmos bipinnatus), also known as cosmos, lives up to its name: With its filigree foliage and dahlia-shaped flowers, the plant is a real gem that no cottage garden should be without. With its tireless blooms in white and various shades of pink, the cosmos ensures radiantly beautiful beds from May to September and is one of the summer bloomers par excellence.

6. Sweet Pea

Annual sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) is probably one of the most beautiful flowers that find their place in the cottage garden. With its delicate flowers and delicious scent, the plant enchants young and old. as climbing plant the sweet pea is ideal for greening the fence of the cottage garden, but it also cuts a fine figure as a cut flower in the vase.

5. hollyhock

They are a must for every cottage garden: hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) provide an extravagant eye-catcher in every bed. The pretty plants stretch up to 2.5 meters in height and are densely covered with beautiful flowers. The hollyhock turns out to be a tireless permanent bloomer, which shows itself in all its bloom until September.

4. lupins

With its large blossom candles forms the lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus) always an eye-catcher in the bed. The perennial shrub is particularly popular in cottage gardens because it exudes rural charm. The plant is also extremely popular as a cut plant for tall vases. But the lupine is not only beautiful, it is also extremely useful as a foundation plant.

3. marigold

The color in the cottage garden has always been provided by the marigold (tagetes). With a bright orange or golden yellow and its round flowers, the beautiful flower can be seen from afar and beautifies every garden. But it is not only its beauty that has made the marigold so popular: the marigold is also very easy to care for and exudes a great scent that fends off annoying pests.

2. peasant hydrangeas

The name says it all - the peasant hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) is an absolute must for every cottage garden. Although the beautiful perennial originally comes from Asia, it was already introduced in the 19th century. Century to Europe and still enjoys great popularity here. In particular, their lush, large inflorescences and their unique willingness to bloom ensure that the farmer's hydrangea enriches every garden with its presence.

1. roses

What would a cottage garden be without roses (pink)? The queen of flowers also has its place in the cottage garden and is and remains the absolute favorite of many gardeners. No wonder, after all, hardly any plant can compete with the beauty and romantic charm of the rose. Different types of roses are often used in cottage gardens: climbing roses are perfect for embellishing arches or fences, wild roses can be used to create natural borders. Standard roses are also popular - traditionally they are at the crossroads of the cottage garden and are therefore the focus.

Creating a cottage garden: tips for planning

If you want to create a cottage garden, as with any garden, thorough planning is the be-all and end-all. First, the floor plan should be designed. The most common type of cottage garden is the so-called Hamburger type: Here the rectangular floor plan divided into quarters by two paths, with the wayside cross laid out as a roundabout and gladly is accentuated. Fountains or water features are particularly popular for this purpose, and roses or a small tree are also perfect as a focal point for smaller gardens. Traditionally, the whole cottage garden is fenced to keep wild animals and intruders away. A picket fence underlines the rustic touch of the garden once again, but hedges can also provide a stylish fencing for the garden.

The beds are also bordered in the cottage garden. Until a few years ago, the boxwood hedge was an absolute favorite, but due to the box tree moth is becoming less and less important. Natural stone and wooden planks, on the other hand, are on the rise, and small walls made of bricks or woven pasture fences are also long-running favourites. In contrast, the paths in the cottage garden remain unsealed in order to preserve the natural flair: lawn and gravel paths offer a cost-effective solution here, bark mulch is practical and reliably suppresses Weed. If you want a particularly beautiful and rustic ambience, you can also use natural stones - these also exude their very own charm as a path.

Summary for planning your cottage garden:

1. Rectangular floor plan with two crossing paths
2. Roundel as a focal point, accentuated by a fountain, a tree or a bed of roses
3. A fence made of slats or hedges keeps unwanted guests away
4. Enclosing the beds with low hedges, natural stone, wooden planks or pasture fences
5. Do not seal paths, but use gravel, bark mulch or natural stone

If you also want to turn your garden into a real paradise for bees, we have them here most bee-friendly plants collected.