The gardens of the wealthy in old England were formal and manicured. In contrast, “cottage” gardens were delightfully haphazard, mixing veggies, herbs and hardy perennials. Today, many gardeners want to bring the charm of the cottage garden into their own yards.
A true cottage garden requires a bit of backyard, but even those without one can achieve the appealing look with a cottage garden in containers on a patio, front porch or balcony. Read on for information about container-grown cottage gardens and tips on how to grow a cottage garden in planters.
Potted Cottage Gardens
If you love the natural look of a cottage garden but just
don’t have the time or space, you can start growing a cottage garden in
planters. A cottage garden in containers allows you to capture the essence of
this look without a lot of fuss or expense.
Potted cottage gardens work well in small patios or decks
since you can shift the containers in and out of the sun as they become ready
for the limelight. For the best luck in growing cottage gardens in planters,
use a variety of pots that offer a succession of changing displays from spring
through fall.
The key to creating this type of continuous display is to select one cottage garden plant to play the central role in each container. Then, fill in around the iconic plant with smaller filler plants. Packing the containers full of flowers and foliage goes a long way toward creating effective potted cottage gardens. You need the tight mix of color and texture mix to get that cottage garden look.
Plants for Container Grown Cottage Gardens
So what to plant to create a container-grown cottage garden?
Cottage garden plants for pots should include climbers, sprawlers and mounders
to get the charm of the unruly look. Here are just some examples, but you can
choose nearly anything that fits with various edibles, herbs and flowers:
- For climbers, consider easy-to-grow morning glories or fragrant sweet peas, both classic elements of a cottage garden.