Cottage is a classic style for a garden. Cottage landscaping evokes images of lush greenery and lovely flowers. The style originated from the more formal English landscaping, and some landscapers still meticulously plan out the beautiful chaos. It's not necessary, though, to be so meticulous in your planning. 

Lay Staggered Pavers for a Path

While cobblestone and brick are traditional for English gardens, they require a lot of work for installation. Your cottage garden can create a casual ambiance with a more informal path. Select instead a series of pavers that complement your home's façade. Stagger them in a meandering route at the length of an average stride. To make them look more part of the natural landscape, plant groundcover between the pavers. The result should be a natural-looking path that entices visitors to wander through your garden.

Scatter Wildflower Seeds

A hallmark of the cottage garden is a profusion of flowers. English plants such as peonies, foxgloves, pansies, snapdragon, and lady's mantle are traditional. You could certainly dot your landscape with a few of these. To create that fecund chaos characteristic of English gardens, consider scattering wildflower seeds throughout your yard. The goal of a cottage garden is to allow native plants to thrive. Be generous in how you scatter the wildflower seeds – you can always thin them out if they start overgrowing your path.

Include Rose Bushes

There's one traditional plant that you should probably include to really promote the English cottage feel with your landscaping – roses. When you imagine a cottage garden, roses almost certainly come to mind. There are so many cultivars of roses, that you're sure to find some that will thrive in your climate. You could plant one near the entrance of your home or yard. You could also create an entire rose garden. It's also charming to plant climbing roses at the base of an arbor and train them up the trellises. As a bonus, you can snip rose blooms to decorate your house or give away as bouquets.

Add a Bench and other Décor

You're going to want to sit awhile in your pretty garden. As such, plan for a space to include at least a bench. As the Landscaping Network points out, weathered furniture is especially charming for such landscaping. The site especially mentions worn wooden furniture. If your landscaping could use a little more adornment, include one or two more yard décor pieces. Birdbaths, bird houses, rain barrels, and wheelbarrows are all charming decorations. Tuck them away in the midst of your wildflowers as if they've been there for years.

Use wildflower seeds, rose bushes, yard décor, and a meandering path to recreate the romance of a traditional English cottage garden.

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