Romantic Plants for a Cottage Garden

English manor gardens were very enviable – they lacked the rigid formations of French formal gardens, yet displayed an exuberance like none other. Roses, hydrangeas, and wisteria spilled over terraces in luxuriant splendor.

Some cottage gardens trend toward the frillier side, with flouncy, multi-petaled blooms that resemble haute couture dresses. Others are wilder and more rustic, echoing the windswept moors of England. At its heart, a cottage garden is about romance – not the torrid love affairs of the modern era – but the kind of romance filled with eternal devotion, serenaded by bumblebees and birdsong.  

Even though a crumbling brick wall will enhance the effect, you do not need acres of land to emulate a cottage garden. A few choice plants will make your garden much more romantic; even a potager garden with an intermingling of vegetables and wildflowers can be charming if done right. Below are the essential cast members that will transform your garden into something out of Wuthering Heights. 

 

1. Old English Roses    

Supermarket varieties of roses tend to be sterile and scentless, mass-produced to fulfill a fleeting need. For a rose that delivers impact, you want Old English roses or David Austin hybrids. Roses have long served as status symbols for the rich, whether festooning the brick walls of mansions or intertwined with other vining plants. A relatively inexpensive way to recreate the effect is to install an arched trellis, which creates lush, layered drapery of roses. Although old garden roses are preferred, other rose cultivars like the Intrigue Rose, a Byzantine purple, mesmerize as well. 

2. Heather   

Heather, as both a name and flower, are seen as dull and old-fashioned. Now that wilder-looking gardens are in style, heather, with its wispy spires of blooms, are welcome; a moorland erupting in swaths of heather in August is a wondrous sight. Erica, or winter-blooming heather, displays a frothy texture, while summer-blooming variants like Scotch heather are more versatile in form and color. Heather grows in acidic, very sandy, low-nutrient soils. Raised garden beds are an ideal solution with subpar native soils. Heather excels at weed-suppressing, functioning as an able groundcover.

3. Hydrangeas   

If you want a classic romantic garden that focuses on whimsy and elegance, hydrangeas are the foundation for such a garden. Incrediball® Hydrangeas are low maintenance, though they benefit from compost amendments. You will rarely come across a bigger bloom – Incrediball hydrangeas open to enormous snowballs, nearly the size of basketballs. 

4. Ornamental Grasses  

Sparse, minimalistic desert gardens have a certain charm, punctuated with strategically placed succulents and other drought-tolerant plants that make use of the space. But for most gardens, barren expanses of land evoke notions of blight and decline. Ornamental grasses in a garden setting is a revelation – they are highly effective at transforming threadbare yards, creating a “fuller” illusion. Pink fountain grass creates a misty, ethereal haze that softens the edges of bolder plants.

5. Lavender 

Unperturbed by the fierce heat of summer, lavender grows strong. Provence exudes old world glamor, and it owes part of its marvelous medieval façade to the profusion of herbs and lavender. While many plants wilt in the heat, lavender has a remarkable drought-tolerance as long as you avoid soggy soils. It is used to line pathways or as borders, its signature purple complimenting the rough-hewn interfaces of many Mediterranean gardens. In a Provence garden, much like a cottage garden, the atmosphere is relaxed, and plantings are freeform, not beholden to strictures. Elegant wrought-iron furniture, pavilions, and trellises for climbing plants complete the look. 

6. Foxgloves 

Foxgloves carry a delicate, impressionistic beauty that 12th French romances strove to capture. One almost expects them to be grown at the court of Camelot. Indeed, they are deeply rooted in folklore, and it is considered bad luck to pick them, as doing so robs the fae of a favored plant. Rusty Foxglove (Digitalis ferruginea) is an unusually colored variety – a faded golden yellow that is intrinsically intriguing. 

7. Astilbe

Although not a stereotypical cottage garden plant, astilbes are popular for their wispy plumes of color. The color of the setting sun, they require very little upkeep. Astilbes bloom later in the season, preventing the garden from becoming bare. 

8. Moonflower    

Some flowers are not deterred by sunset and bloom at a time when nighttime creatures are on the prowl. Moonflowers are designed for moonlight gardens where night-blooming flowers hold court. Their white petals practically glow in the dark, and they release a citrusy, sweet scent that is strongest under the stars. At night, solar lights light the way. 

8. Cafe au Lait Dahlia 

Some flowers shout with rancor why they must be heard. The 'Café au Lait' dahlia, by contrast, has a whispery feel to it, the usual flamboyance of dahlias tempered by its antiquated rose tone. In short, they are fantastically beautiful and would work for any garden theme. Dahlias prefer full sun (though partial shade is acceptable), well-drained soil, and even moisture. 

9. Blue Rose of Sharon 

With a soft blue hue and hibiscus-like blooms, this enchanting shrub brings an ethereal magic to the space. What makes this variety stand out from the tired pink version and other dull hedges is its timeless look. Pollinators, including bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, flock to it in droves, and it grows in most soil conditions.