Anatomy of a Cottage Garden by Organized Clutter
I am a cottage style gardener. My flower gardens are not formal. I like to mix annuals, perennials and garden junk. My only rule is “taller in the back and shorter in front”. The junk serves two purposes, vertical interest and visual interest. A flower bed is just far more interesting and pleasing when there is some height, and varying heights.
Plan a garden! Plant a garden! It’s fun! I have made mistakes in design and just moved the plants the following year.
Below are labeled photographs of my 2013 front yard border. P=Perennial, A=Annual (Zone 3)
Plant Key:
- Creeping Baby’s Breath (P)
- Vera Jameson Sedum (P)
- Stella d’Oro Daylily (P)
- Blue Chips Bellflower (P)
- Supertunia Raspberry Blast (A)
- Asiatic Lily (P)
- Purple Coneflowers (P)
- Dropwort Filapendula (P)
- Purple Verbena (A)
- Ponytail Grass (A)
- Tall Pink Asiatic Lilies (P)
- Globe Thistle (P)
- Whirlybird Nasturium (A)
- Cushion Spurge (P)
- White Chips Bellflower (P)
- Pink Moss Roses (A)
- Russian Sage (P)
- Key Lime Coral Bells (P)
- Red Verbena (A)
- Diamond Frost (A)
- Cherry Star Superbell Calibrachoa (A)
- Angelonia Angelface Blue (A)
- Pincushion Flower (P)
- Shasta Daisy (P)
- Small Marguerite Daisy (A)
- Maltese Cross (P)
- Dark Pink Gaura (A)
- Alyssum (A)
- White Astilbe (P)
- Red Astilbe (P)
- Gardenview Scarlet Monarda (P)
- Butterfly Marguerite Daisy (A)
- Silver Mound (P)
- Liatris (P)
Just in case you didn’t catch the Garden Art, here is a Junk Key:
- Old chair and wood garden Angel
- “Garden of Weed’n” sign
- Rusty Milk Can Top
- Step Ladder
- Galvanized tubs
- Funnel on a broom handle (actually it’s a double decker funnel)
- Dragonfly “Garden” sign
- Blue Birdhouse
This photos is from the curb appeal post. The lilies weren’t in bloom yet but the nasturiums were gorgeous. After all the rain I had to deadhead almost all of the blossoms off!
