The “Cottage Garden” Look: 5 Essential Tips
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While there are variations in the design of modern gardens, there are a few uniting themes: hard landscaping, minimal plants, stylish furniture, and water features. There is no denying that these contemporary gardens can look spectacular – but what if you’d prefer a more timeless aesthetic?
For those seeking alternatives to a modern garden, the “cottage garden” style has risen to prominence. Cottage gardens embrace the chaos of nature, with a historical feel that is nevertheless vibrant with life, interest, and beauty. If you want to create a cottage garden aesthetic for yourself, here’s five helpful tips that should help you along the way…
CONSIDER EVERY ELEMENT OF YOUR GARDEN, NOT JUST PLANTS AND FLOWERS
Most cottage gardens are characterised by their plants and flowers – and we’ll discuss these in more depth soon – but to capture the heart of a cottage garden style, it’s best to think of every element of your garden. Wherever possible, opt for traditional designs; wooden furniture, a Victorian greenhouse, a wooden shed with a gable roof, and stepping stones can all be hugely beneficial in this regard.
KEEP YOUR LAWN
Lawns have somewhat fallen out of fashion over recent years, particularly as hard landscaping has grown in popularity. However, lawns can really help to complete a cottage garden aesthetic; if you’re not a fan of lawn maintenance, then artificial turf is a great compromise.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT FLOWERS
When it comes to a cottage garden, choosing the right flowers is essential in order to complete the look. You can select flowers at random – after all, one of the benefits of choosing a cottage garden style is the fact that variation and difference are outright encouraged – but it’s also helpful to include a few cottage garden favourites wherever possible.
FOCUS ON SOFT LINES
It’s often thought that the biggest difference between contemporary garden design and more traditional, cottage-style gardens is the flowers, and how they are arranged – for example, modern design will use pots and planters, whereas cottage gardens tend to have flowers growing directly from the soil. However, perhaps the single most significant difference between the two styles is actually lines; modern gardens will use hard, geometric lines, whereas soft curves are far more likely to be seen in cottage gardens. In particular, think about landscaping features; pathways, for example, can have a gentle curve without deviating from their intended route, which really helps to soften the overall space.
TRY TO ATTRACT BUTTERFLIES, BEES, AND WILDLIFE
A beautiful cottage garden always seems to be rich with life, a sense of nature at its most untamed. As a result, doing all you can to attract butterflies, bees, and wildlife to your garden helps to complete the overall look. There’s a variety of different ways to do this, ranging from planting butterfly-attracting flowers such as calendula to starting a wildlife pond or insect hotel, so experiment and see what works best for you.
IN CONCLUSION
Hopefully, the tips above will help you to create the cottage garden of your dreams – enjoy!
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