English Cottage Garden Plans

If a charming English cottage garden is part of the vision for your home, map out your design to take full advantage of the landscape concept. Initially, this style of garden developed in plots of dirt surrounding the simple cottages of poor workers on the large estates in Tudor England. Over the centuries, the garden style blossomed beyond a way to supplement meager food rations into a haven for fruit, flowers and foliage. Today's cottage gardens integrate edible landscaping with abundant flowers and quiet areas for relaxation.

Design a fence to enclose your garden. Early English cottage garden fences were made of stone gathered from the surrounding fields, but a picket, lattice or twig fence is also acceptable, and may be more cost-effective depending on your location. Include a garden gate with an arching arbor in your fencing plans.

Identify the best locations for your planting beds. Start by marking a border 2 to 3 feet wide around the inside of your perimeter fence. Block out the space for a small lawn. Mark areas for growing vegetables, perennial beds and an herb garden near the door closest to your kitchen. The beds may have irregular shapes -- in fact, that is most attractive -- but should not be wider than 6 to 8 feet at any point, making it easy to reach in and care for the plants.

Lay out the garden paths, adjusting the size and shape of the planting beds as you sketch in the walkways. Start with the path from the garden gate to the front door, then connect paths to any other doors and the lawn area. English cottage gardens paths are traditionally narrow, winding between and around the planting beds, but you may make yours wide enough for a wheelbarrow or garden cart.

Select classic English cottage garden plants for the beds. Choose updated hybrids or cultivars best suited for your gardening climate wherever possible to ensure your garden's longevity and easy maintenance. Instead of "brambles," for example, plan for thornless raspberry and blackberry plants. Order disease-resistant dwarf fruit trees, sweet peas bred for intense scent and bolt-resistant spinach. Include traditional perennials such as delphiniums, English daisies and delicate forget-me-nots in the garden plan. Leave room for an heirloom climbing rose near the arbor, and antique English rose bushes in a shade-dappled location near the house.

Allocate a portion of your garden budget to useful, yet attractive, garden accessories and furniture. Find a garden bench to set in a shady corner. Select trellises for clematis vines to climb, and a carved birdbath to accent a flower bed. Invest in a cast iron table and chairs, ideal for an outdoor English tea party surrounded by your cottage garden.

If you have sufficient space to include a small shed or greenhouse in your cottage garden plan, mark its location before arranging the planting beds and pathways.