Incorporating the cottage garden style into your garden can be accomplished largely by using many of the plants that are hallmarks of the design. Here are some options to get you started.

“The term “cottage garden” conjures up images of a garden that’s bursting at the seams in summer—of herbs, self-seeding annuals, and flowering shrubs mingling together; of vigorous climbing roses scrambling along walls, with poppies, peonies, and showy perennials in vibrant colors peppering the space. It is a style of informality and partially controlled wildness, with plants tightly packed together.”

Read more from Mixing the Cottage Garden Style With the New Perennial Approach

1. ‘Bowles’s Mauve’ wallflower Name: Erysimum ‘Bowles’s Mauve’ Zones: 6–9 Size: 24 inches tall and 18 inches wide Conditions: Full sun; average to dry soil Native range: Garden origin	2. Lady’s mantle Name: Alchemilla mollis Zones: 3–8 Size: 18 inches tall and 30 inches wide Conditions: Partial shade; average to moist, well-drained soil Native range: Eastern Europe

3. Mexican daisy Name: Erigeron karvinskianus Zones: 8–10 Size: 20 inches tall and 30 inches wide Conditions: Full sun; average to dry soil Native range: Mexico and Central America	4. Foxglove Name: Digitalis spp. and cvs. Zones: 3–8 Size: 2 to 5 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; average to moist, well-drained soil Native range: Europe

5. ‘Princess Anne’ rose Name: Rosa ’Princess Anne’ Zones: 4–11 Size: 4 feet tall and wide Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; not fussy about soil Native range: Garden origin	6. Pale yellow-eyed grass Name: Sisyrinchium striatum Zones: 5–9 Size: 2 feet tall and wide Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; moist, well-drained soil Native range: Argentina and Chile

Greg Loades is the author of The Modern Cottage Garden.

To learn more about the cottage garden style, check out Mixing the Cottage Garden Style With the New Perennial Approach

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