Want a Lush, Cottage Garden at Home? Here’s How To Get It!

Learn more about garden styles:
-Cottage Garden Style, A Complete Guide (Article)
www.prettypurpledoor.com/coun...
Garden Styles: What Type is Right For You? (Article)
www.prettypurpledoor.com/gard...
-Garden Style Statement Workbook (Guide) www.prettypurpledoor.com/shop...
-Garden Style Mood Board Workshop (Live Workshop Recordings) www.prettypurpledoor.com/mood
-Plant Perfect Activity Book to plan a “uniquely you” garden space (Book) go.prettypurpledoor.com/plant...
-Design Your 4 Season Garden Course: www.prettypurpledoor.com/course
Follow PrettyPurpleDoor on instagram @prettypurpledoor.
About the Video:
Cottage garden style is the relaxed and sometimes unruly offspring of the formal/traditional garden style. In cottage gardens, there’s much less emphasis placed on the symmetry or positioning of plants. Throughout this video, you’ll learn lots of tips and tricks to get your home gardening feeling cottage-like and cozy.
The cottage garden design style incorporates dense informal masses of edibles, herbs, medicinals and ornamental plantings using traditional-style hardscape materials. The earliest cottage gardens in England were grown for very practical purposes. Over time, a colorful mixture of blooming flowers has become the centerpiece rather than the afterthought of the cottage garden style.
Although the lack of rules and structure can make the country cottage garden style a little tricky to accomplish, the one thing you need to remember is that cottage gardens are gardens “of the heart, of the hearth and of the home.”
Here are my top tips to nailing the cottage garden style at home:
1. Avoid symmetry and straight lines
2. Design informal plantings that appear “randomly placed” with very little open space.
3. Use natural materials like brick, gravel, decomposed stone and mulch used for pathways.
4. Use common plants and incorporate medicinals, edibles and herbs into the planting with your flowers. Try Plants that spill onto paths, over fences and out of window boxes to “soften” the edges. Go vertical by growing climbing plants and vines up walls and fences. A staple to cottage garden style is using ornamental plants mixed together with medicinal and edible plants.
5. You can use lots of color, but be intentional about your color palette.
Items to Incorporate to get the cottage garden style at home:
-Fencing - A white picket fence is the staple of the cottage garden style but you can also look into palisade fencing, post & rail fence, hazel/willow hurdle fences and brushwood fences
-clay flower pots: amzn.to/3rQvJpC
-white lattice trellis: amzn.to/2uvosig
-Arbor gate: amzn.to/2uvosig
-wood window box: amzn.to/34WIx3M
-plants like self sowing annuals, medicinals, edibles and herbs
-flea market finds
Galvanized rustic triple hanging planter: amzn.to/2Uhbsvz
Amish wagon backyard planter (a bit small, double-check the dimensions!): amzn.to/2UanN4s
Galvanized toolbox caddy with handle (would make a great planter): amzn.to/2Udd09F
Tricycle plant stand for patio: amzn.to/2U9i0vT
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🌷Helping you create a vibrant, manageable 4-season landscape that is uniquely you.🌷
I’m Amy and I help home gardeners design design landscapes that are uniquely you.
3 Gardening Secrets Revealed (Free Training): go.prettypurpledoor.com/secre...
Free Plant Pairing Guide: prettypurpledoor.com/guides
Code: YKOQQUDQ7IV5KMCF

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Are you in the process of designing your cottage garden? Check out my Design Your 4-Season Garden course for a step-by-step process and support along the way! prettypurpledoor.com/course

[@lesliekendall5668]

What zone are you in?

[@artistlovepeace]

Thank you for the information and lecture.

[@melissaoleary8196]

You had me at "don't follow the instructions". 😂

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

😂😂😂

[@karinascrystalgarden1112]

I giggled when you said, don't follow the instructions on the planting guide. Loved this video, it's exactly my style a beautiful mess from the heart! Thank you, I really enjoy watching your videos!

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Lol ignore those instructions we will start a support group, cram planters unite 😂

[@Theinsomniac826]

I poured used coffee grounds on my blue spruce tree and it came back to life. It looks very majestic and beautiful.

[@sydneysovern]

I’m so glad I found this! I have a ridiculous amount of seedlings inside and a ridiculous amount of space outside and I’m totally struggling to plan what to put where 😂

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Check out my course! Prettypurpledoor.com/course

[@totallydomestic433]

Loved this cottage garden video. That’s my style, but not the scraggly overgrown look where you can’t see the house. I am going to watch every one of your videos!

[@fabricdragon]

my front yard is closer to "cottage" than any other style, one thing i found was that by having a unifying color spread throughout (in my case, white/off white) it helped smooth some other issues out. Most of my flowers range form pink to purple, but here and there are odd ball colors, and they would clash i think except that there are off white edging stones, and off white pots, and white flowers, here and there throughout. also *most* of the time, the use of wood and "re used" items will push the garden toward the informal. we have half whiskey barrels and it definitely adds a touch of the "rustic" but not so much as to make it look completely "natural". now, to be fair, i am planting a lot of edible stuff in my front yard, and i wanted to be absolutely certain my yard looked "good enough" that my neighbors liked it. (note: i avoided an HOA at all costs so technically i can grow whatever, but i want to *encourage* others, not discourage them!) so a lot of my pollination plants are familiar things like coneflowers, and bee balm, and garden phlox... daylilies are both edible and look familiar... lavender is always a good choice, in my opinion, as it is edible in some varieties, medicinal, beautiful, pollinator friendly, *familiar* to the neighbors, and low water need! and can fit in from formal to completely wild depending on placement and pruning!

[@MyAvalonGarden]

Fantastic!

[@gardenfunwithjane4897]

My style is definitely a cottage garden style. I love planting everything to intermingle. If i don't like how the colors are working i move the plant. But usually I'm very happy with the results. Hi from Utah ❤

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Hi from PA! 💜

[@lilypad342]

This is exactly what I needed! My favorite style and I’m just starting. Lots of trial and error but your advice is very much appreciated!!

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

You'd probably love my course. Prettypurpledoor.com/course

[@Gardendesigns.byperi]

Great video.Thank you !

[@seansherlock9047]

Great video. Great advice. Thank you!

[@vkbowers]

This was so helpful!! Thank you!!

[@hannahadlergontard7057]

I like very much this video! Thank you!😍

[@MK-wm6gu]

This was interesting. I’m subscribing so I can see more!

[@orangetigerlilylane1111]

Loved this. I'm in the process of making a cottage garden.

[@kadyvolpe2936]

Great video as always Amy 🩷

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Thank you!! 😁

[@sullivanmercantile6131]

This is very informative,. Thank you for this!

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jessicapinto3817]

Brilliant video, new subscriber here!

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Thank you! Welcome aboard 🛳

[@mickeypantaleo5171]

Love love love your garden. Absolutely beautiful. One can dream lol! ❤

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Thanks so much! You can do it 💜🌻

[@SunandSnowGardening]

Great video! I'll use this info. Love the cottage look.

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Glad it was helpful

[@beybslifeintheus494]

Beautiful garden my friend

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Thanks for visiting 😊

[@smeyers2308]

Thank you very much. I love this video. It’s really helpful.

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ivy19958]

Great video. Your garden looks very beautiful. I love the brick Circle and all the hardscape ,too.❤❤❤

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Thank you so much 😊

[@stevejennings2394]

Thanks great info 😊

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Glad it was helpful!

[@raymondepare5114]

... From Québec, thank you so much for this video ...

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Thanks for watching!

[@Blake.Cooper]

Just subscribed! You had me at the very beginning. You are very well spoken.

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Thanks for your kind words and for subscribing! I've had a lot of practice 😊

[@hollymahler8213]

Great advice! :)

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Glad it was helpful!

[@freedomofreligion3248]

Amy, I LOVE that spinning garden ornament behind you, over by the fence. ❤

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Thank you! It's a copper wind spinner. I think I got it at plow and hearth

[@feliciaricci8839]

Thank you!

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

You bet!

[@ayseguldemirsan3028]

Please make a video about Japanese garden 🙏 Your videos are vere informative👍👏 The best ones I’ve watched so far!

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

I have an article that covers most garden styles I could think of. You can read it here: prettypurpledoor.com/garden-styles I also have an in depth article about Asian style gardens, which includes Chinese, Japanese and Korean, here: www.prettypurpledoor.com/asian-gardens/ My KZbin channel only scratches the surface of what I've written about over the last decade. Check it out.

[@maryannferencak3799]

Excellent video! I have a traditional front yard and a combination of cottage and traditional backyard. I am creating a semi circular cottage garden off of my patio and it really is not easy! I discovered that I was spacing everything too far apart, just like you said not to do. I added some tidy evergreen shrubs; maybe I shouldn't have, but felt it needed some structure (especially in the winter).

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

I always use evergreens for structure in my gardens. No matter what the style.

[@dustyflats3832]

I tussle with formal and cottage/eclectic. I grow or propagate most all I grow and until it fills in it looks a bit dotty. lol, the poppies have their own idea of where they should be placed-like everywhere 😅. Recently the rabbits are choosing to eat everything I want to grow. And that is the other dilemma, I have to fence Everything as the wildlife eat everything. So the fence takes away from the carefree look. Right now we are dealing with temp swings that cause early growth and now we are getting a freeze tonight to kill things off. It’s getting Very difficult to garden. It’s a workout to cover everything.

[@jessicalatorraca8507]

Great video! You’re a good teacher. One q: With the plants packed so close, do you step on them while weeding?

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

No, I do leave space behind my borders so I can walk through. Or some stepping stones here and there to stand on.

[@cresentiae]

Thank you #savesoil #consciousplanet

[@carolinaop5641]

I liked this video. Thanks. My garden follows a cottage garden style. We have 2 areas, and on the area at the back, I have one border that is blue and white. Some lupin seeds came up pink, so I moved those 2 plamts to the other side of the garden, but the lillies change colour every year... what do you do with them? Perhaps I need to leave them on the other side, which is more pink... Why do they change colour anyway?

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

I'm not sure what youre asking exactly. Some plants will change color with the pH of your soil, though.

[@ElinWinblad]

Any tips for paths that slope but not enough for stairs but I worry if I made a hard path I’d slip on it .

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

If it were me I'd do small incremental steps as it sloped down. One step, level it out... Another step, level it out. But that's just my personal opinion.

[@Tambisme]

😊

[@karysu51]

How does the cottage garden look in winter when all the perennials have died back? I am trying to plant evergreens among the color for winter interest. I am zone 9b in central california where winters are mild and summers are intensly hot.

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

My course teaches you how to include lots of winter interest in your cottage garden. Prettypurpledoor.com/course. If you don't plan for winter, it won't look good in winter.

[@alexscandidcorner]

What type of echinacea is that pictured? The tall pink one near the arch. 😊

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Echinacea purpurea

[@teslaandhumanity7383]

Poor grew from cuttings and seeds , from the rich gardens , or neighbours sharing .

[@dn844]

Does this type of garden need to be weeded or how do you keep out the weeds?

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Yes, all gardens get weeds. Cottage gardens are no exception. 1. Plant tightly with no open space (bare ground) for weeds to germinate 2. Apply mulch or use groundcover plants to cover the ground so weeds can't grow. 3.watch this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/pnqomHyugLaiibM

[@Theinsomniac826]

Can you help me? I planted 8 emerald green arborvitaes a month ago. There is no mulch yet. I bought 3 bags of mulch from Home Depot but I see they are infested with tiny white bugs that are either spider mites or termites. I am very afraid to open the bags. Should I throw that mulch away? Should I purchase cedar mulch? I read cedar mulch doesn't attract termites.

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Return the bags to the store for a refund. If the bags get wet sometimes there's issues.

[@Theinsomniac826]

@@PrettyPurpleDoor thanks

[@jenniferwolford4646]

You actually do want to repeat plantings to draw the eye from one area to another, and it's best to plant in groups of 3-7.

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

I have lots of videos about this. Check out my how to arrange plants video. But for cottage style in particular this isn't always necessary as it's supposed to look like it just "happened" that way more naturally.

[@vimeopictures5170]

I live in India. I want to create a cottage garden. Do you do online consultation?

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

I have a course called Design Your 4-Season Garden and you can purchase a plan review for me to review when you purchase the course: prettypurpledoor.com/course

[@Hisloyalservantslistenlove613c]

Finally a woman who doesn’t use makeup.

[@PrettyPurpleDoor]

Haha, I do on occasion but not usually while I'm working in the garden.

[@rebecca5004]

Right!!! You're working in a garden not going to a cocktail party!!!

[@Hisloyalservantslistenlove613c]

@@rebecca5004 definition ‘cocktail’ party: a gathering of drug ( alcohol ) addicts

[@laurenecarter246]

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[@Hisloyalservantslistenlove613c]

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