Spring is here and many of us have started dreaming about lush summer gardens. If you’re in the beginning stages of your vintage cottage garden design, you’ll find tons of helpful tips in this blog post.
Vintage cottage gardens are becoming more and more popular and I understand why. They are romantic, classic, and nostalgic! The modern cottage interior design style has come to stay, and many want a charming cottage garden to go with it. But how do you get one started if you’re a beginner gardener? It can be tempting to go out and buy all the pretty flowers without having done any preparations beforehand. With some planning and a little bit of work, you’ll have a beautiful cottage garden that will give you joy for years to come.
How to Design a Vintage Cottage Garden
1. Choose Your Location
The first thing you need to think about when designing a vintage cottage garden is the location. When planting a garden, choose a spot that gets a lot of sun throughout the day. There are cottage garden plants that tolerate shade, but as a rule of thumb, the more sun, the better. Areas for shade-loving plants can be created by planting bushes or trees.
You also need to think about access. Do you want the garden to be right outside your door? This can be very practical, especially if you’re also planning to grow some vegetables or flowers to bring inside. Do you want the garden to be the first thing people see when they come to visit you, or do you want it to be more of a private backyard garden? These are all things to consider
2. Brainstorm Ideas and Envision Your Perfect Garden
The next step is to brainstorm ideas. Dream about what is possible in the location you have chosen. Go to Pinterest or Google and look for inspiring photos. Create a vision board with pictures of vintage style gardens you like. This will give you a good idea of what kind of elements to include in your garden design.
Do you see a common theme in your vision board photos? Maybe it’s having a picket fence surrounding the garden, climbing roses over a trellis, or even a specific color palette. Make some notes of elements you want to include in your vintage cottage garden.
3. Measure and Draw
Now it’s time to get to work. Start by measuring the area where you intend for your garden to be located. Then, make a drawing of what you want your cottage garden to look like. It doesn’t have to be a professional drawing. Simply sketch out the different elements of your cottage garden, and where you want them to be.
How big do you want your borders to be?
Where do you want your seating area?
Where do you want to have a path?
If you have never designed a garden before, it can be worth it to get a garden designer to help you out. They may be able to see solutions you wouldn’t come up with yourself.
4. Create the Structure
Now it’s time to start digging and building. You have now made your garden plan. You know what you want to include in your garden, and where you want it. The next step is to get hold of all the materials you need and get to work. Build your wooden garden beds. Create your gravel pathways. Make your rock borders. Set up your seating area.
This step can require a lot of manual labor, depending on how advanced your garden plan is. Hire a professional if you want to save time and get a quality result.
5. Take Care of the Soil Health
When everything is ready, it is time to think about the soil. Healthy soil is extremely important if you want your garden plants to thrive. Adding a layer of rich organic compost to the top of your soil can make a huge difference. A layer of woodchips on top of your soil can also do wonders, especially in areas where you’re going to plant woody perennials or bushes.
6. Plan Which Plants You Want
You might already know exactly what kind of plants you are going to plant. If not, now is the time to think about it. For a vintage cottage garden feeling, go for classics that remind you of the English countryside. Check out this blog post on the best low-maintenance cottage garden flowers to grow.
Choose a variety of spring flowering bulbs, perennial flowers, and shrubs. Consider the flowering times of each plant, and try to have something in bloom throughout the whole summer. When one plant withers, another can take over.
7. Purchase Plants
Purchase your plants from a local nursery, or order them online. Maybe you even have a kind neighbor who wants to share some of her perennials. Sharing plants is an old tradition, and you might get your hands on some vintage cottage garden classics.
8. Watering
It is important to consider how you are going to water your garden. Set up a gardening hose, or install drip tape for easy watering. With adequate amounts of sunshine, water, and healthy soil, your plants will be set up to thrive.
9. Vintage Cottage Garden Touches
Your garden is now ready to go. Have fun adding vintage treasures to your garden. Old bicycles, pots, and ornate objects add lots of charm to the garden. A gate or portal made from branches like the one pictured below gives a whimsical cottage touch.
This blog post has been all about how to design a vintage cottage garden. I hope you enjoyed the post! Be sure to check out my other cottage garden blog posts here.