Create a low-maintenance cottage garden with these classic flowering plants.
Cottage garden style is all about soft lines, heirloom varieties, and unstructured flower beds.
Here are 17 low-maintenance plants that aremust-haves for your cottage garden.
Credit: Tom McWilliam
If the plant receives too much nitrogen, it puts its energy into producing foliage, not blooms.
Columbine
A dainty-looking buteasy-to-grow perennial,columbine(Aquilegiaspp.)
blooms in spring and early summer.
Credit: Jeff McNamara
Its colorful flowers areloved by hummingbirdsand gardeners alike, making them an excellent low-maintenance cottage garden idea.
In spring and early summer, somecoral bells(Heucheraspp.)
produce showy sprays of pink, red, or white flowers that attract pollinators.
Credit:Alise O’Brien
Size:To 18 inches tall
Zones:3-8
Daisy
Thedaisy(Leucanthemumspp.
)provides long-lasting summer blooms and a classic beauty that works well in anycottage garden design.
Its bright white flowers with sunny yellow centers are perfect for beds, borders, andcutting gardens.
Credit: Brie Passano
Thesetall perennials need stakingto protect them from the wind, but theyre worth the extra work.
Delphiniums are challenging to grow in areas with hot summers, so theyre a better choice for cool climates.
Commonfoxgloves(Digitalispurpurea)often self-seed and appear each year in the garden.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
However, only a basal rosette of leaves is produced in the first year from seed.
The plants flowers produced in the second year sit atop leafy spires rising from the centers of the rosettes.
Look for resistant varieties and carefully check plants for small orange-yellow dots before purchase.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Iris
Manyirisesare wonderfullyfragrant flowers, offering many blooms available in a rainbow of colors and sizes.
Theyre an easy favorite for cottage gardens, with graceful flowers in pastel shades andlack of appeal to rabbits.
That fuzz often catches early morning dewdrops, givingladys mantlea spangled appearance.
Credit: David McDonald
Size:1-2 feet tall
Lavender
Both ornamental and useful,lavender(Lavandulaspp.)
bears fragrant foliage and flowers that draw pollinators.
The blooms typically appear in shades of violet and white.
Credit:BHG / Evgeniya Vlasova
Theyrelovely for dryingand using in sachets and other craft projects.
Zones:5-8, depending on variety
Peony
Peonies (Paeoniaspp.)
are some ofthe most romantic plantswith their showy, petal-packed blooms.
Credit: Ed Gohlich
They bloom in mid- to late spring.
They look stunning, give off a wonderful fragrance, and are virtually pest-free.
In addition, peonies perform well in your garden for decades.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
An especially impressive variety is Johnsons Blue, which offersbeautiful blue-purple flowersin early summer.
These plants also have vibrant foliage colors in the fall.
The flowers are often delightfully fragrant, and theyattract hummingbirdsand other pollinators.
Credit: Jason Donnelly
The flowers come in vivid red, pink, white, and bi-color shades.
The blooms makegorgeous additions to flower bouquets, and theyattract pollinators.
are among the most charming flowers for cottage gardens.
Credit: Matthew Benson
These cool-weather loverswill add color to your gardenin spring and often bloom again in fall.
The flowers taste faintly like mint or wintergreen.
North Carolina State University Extension.
Credit: David Patterson
National Poison Control Center.
Credit: Blaine Moats
Credit: Nancy Rotenberg
Credit: Tom McWilliam
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Credit: David Nevala
