The Difference Between a Cottage Garden & an English Garden

The merry, mischievous, much-mimicked English cottage garden is Great Britain’s horticultural gift to the world. Crazy-quilt colored combinations of edible and ornamental annuals and perennials in beds, boxes and borders were originally planted for practical use in nearby kitchens and to decorate church altars. Over the centuries, the cool, moist North Atlantic climate has fostered other garden styles, including formal and landscape, stiff-upper-lipped counterparts to their rowdy cousin. Use local plants to create your own spin on all three.

No difference exists between an English garden and a cottage garden. Any confusion about an English cottage garden's origins arises from the way the concept has been translated throughout the world. Whether gracing a tropical beach bungalow or mountaintop cabin, the garden's creepers, spreaders, climbers and masses in varied heights create a full, billowy, untamed look.

Offbeat, fanciful or distressed objects, signs and ornaments -- an old trombone, antique watering can, pinwheel stake or meditating frog statue, for instance -- spark small moments of delight, comedy or serenity in the garden. Curvy paths lead to benches and bird feeders.

The cottage garden concept adapts to all U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plant hardiness zones, localized by latitude and attitude. A sunny, southern California garden, for example, can harbor a profusion of self-seeding California poppies (Escholzia californica), hardy in USDA zones 6 through 10, paired with aromatic lavender such as "Otto Quast" Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas "Otto Quast"), hardy in USDA zones 7 through 9. Gardeners in chillier zones can rely on English cottage garden staples from cheddar pink (Dianthus "Bath’s Pink"), hardy in USDA zones 3 through 9, to English primrose (Primula vulgaris), perennial in USDA zones 4 through 8.

It looks random, but the tightly packed cottage style shines brightest when its designer sketches and follows a basic plan.

A formal garden is more manicured and symmetrical than a cottage garden. It may feature clipped hedges and shaped topiary. Polished, dignified ornamentation is color-coordinated. Antique-looking Greek or Roman statuary and marble accents create classic appeal.

The ha-ha, a boundary ditch that acts as a nearly invisible barrier, is a British invention that blocks grazing animals and other intruders without using fences or walls that interrupt the scenery's visual flow.

The serpentine borders and geometrically shaped beds of formal gardens contain many of the same plants found in cottage gardens, especially shrub roses (Rosa spp.) such as Knock Out (Rosa 'Radrazz'), which does well in partial shade and is perennial in USDA zones 5 through 9. In the climbing category, climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala) is a USDA zones 4 through 7 alternative to the classic, but invasive, English Ivy (Hedera Helix), a USDA zones 4 to 9 perennial. Dropmore scarlet honeysuckle (Lanicera x brownii), hardy in USDA zones 3 through 8, is a less tenacious twining option with hummingbird and butterfly appeal.

Lessen upkeep by staging your formal garden on a less-grand scale around a single focal point, such as a front-door entryway.

Parklike on an epic scale, a rambling, picturesque landscape garden features lush, rolling lawn, naturalized fields, majestic trees and stately shrubs. The garden is anchored by uncluttered walkways, spacious seating areas, classic sculptural details and water elements, including bridges.

A landscape garden is a long-term investment best-suited to a large tract of land where fruit and deciduous trees, evergreens, flowering shrubs and a proliferation of bulbs have room to spread as they mature. Choose compatible tree and plant combinations because they’ll compete for root space and nutrition. Plot a perennial planting plan using ideas culled from public parks, arboretums, tree farms and nurseries.