If you have ever thought that a cottage garden is so appealing that it is the style you want to create in your own garden, then I have found an article over at the hgtv website that has some useful tips. Part of the attraction of a cottage garden is the way that flowers and vegetables are to a certain extent mixed together in the same bed. And it is the beds that are the feature and a lawn is not an essential part of the design.

Although of English origin, the romance of the cottage garden wins hearts around the world with its prolific planting, profusion of color and variety of species. At its best, a cottage garden uses thematic or coordinated flower and foliage color within small areas or “rooms.”

The layout of a cottage garden may be simple and geometric, or more idiosyncratic with twists and turns, especially as the design moves away from the house and the plantings become more organic and wild. Pathways are often narrow, so that the plants partially obscure a clear way through. This romantic planting softens the appearance of a garden, and brings you into close contact with scent, foliage textures and spectacular blazes of color.

The paved areas are constructed from small-scale units, such as brick, gravel or cobblestones, which allow mosses, lichens or creeping plants to move into the joints and surfaces. Simple seats, old pieces of machinery and other ?found? materials make interesting focal points and create a quality of mystery, while arbors or arches decorate the thresholds between the various garden spaces.

Lawns may be used, but it is the planting beds that are considered most important, sometimes – especially at the border – filled with fruit, herb or vegetable plants.

Read the rest over at hgtv.com
Image source: the yes man