An english cottage garden can't be built in a day. But it can almost be built in 3 years.
Behold the English cottage garden in year 3. It's almost where it needs to be. In another decade or so and it'll be perfect. Apparently English cottage gardens run on the same timeline as jeans.
I'm going to take a minute to warn you that this page might load slowly because there are a lot (as in too many) photographs of the garden and all the varieties of dahlias. So go, get a coffee, a donut and I'll meet you back here.
3 years ago I decided I was going to give having an English cottage garden a real try. You know? Like I'd actually put in some effort and not just expect it to appear. I love the look of neat, tidy gardens where everything is trimmed and perfect looking. But I can't live with it myself.
I like a little bit of wild in my garden but at the same time I don't want it to look like it's just overgrown and out of control. You'd be surprised at how hard it is to get the perfect balance between rigid and I stopped to taking my meds.
2 years ago I started clearing things out from my front yard that I either didn't like or didn't think suited a typical English garden. I dug up a couple of perennial hibiscus, some day lilies and thinned out the phlox which always got powdery mildew 3 days into blooming then croaked completely the next day.
Phlox does NOT like to be crowded but if you insist on having it, thinning it so there's plenty of space between each stem will really, really help reduce powdery mildew.
I should probably point out that I did nothing to clean up the garden for these photos. I didn't rake, I didn't sweep, I didn't deadhead. Nothing.
What is an English Cottage Garden
Let's recap what an English Cottage Garden is. It's anything you want it to be. There are no rules, and that's what makes it so hard to figure out.
With a classic garden you know you want things like structure and symmetry.
With a cottage garden it's a free for all. BUT there are some guidelines.
You want lots of flowers, vegetables and things should have a proper balance to them but not necessarily symmetry.
You can read a lot more about what makes an English Cottage garden in this post that I wrote in detail about it.
I find it MUCH easier to design this kind of wild garden if I have at least a little bit of symmetry. Because of that, enter black kale.
This is Black Magic kale and it is exactly as big as it looks. It's also the plant in my yard that's the most gawked at. Some people are brave enough to ask what it is.
I'm growing it here for decorative purposes until November. Once November hits, I'll be using it for cooking. It should stay good until January. Actually I don't cook kale. The only way I'll eat it is raw for this kale salad that I eat all winter long.
A lot of what grew in the garden just popped up from last year. I didn't plant any celosia for example, yet I have all kinds of it and I've pulled out scads of it.
I'll be saving seeds from this one but I'm not sure why because I won't have to plant any of them next year - they'll just grow.
And then there are the dahlias. I have so many dahlias and half of them didn't even grow. I have at least 5 varieties that have grown but still haven't flowered yet.
I took part in a couple of ZOOM meetings with my local dahlia society and they described it as a challenging year for dahlias. Dahlia people are quite polite.
I describe it as a wing nut, disaster of a shitshow. Snow on the first long weekend of the summer followed IMMEDIATELY by drought & blinding heat for 3 straight months.
I'm hoping the dahlias that haven't flowered will put forth a concerted effort to explode with blooms in the next 4 or 5 hours before frost comes. If not, the tubers should still be good when I dig them up so I can try again next year.
I have some favourites, but this isn't one of them. I like it and all, but I wouldn't be crushed if the tuber didn't make it.
Next year I'll do a better job of staking them.
The dahlias seem to take over the garden, but only for the fall. In the earlier parts of summer there are roses that bloom, hydrangeas, lavender, cosmos, snapdragons and a bunch of other stuff that I can't really remember right now because I'm blinded by the dahlias.
Everything in this front bed self seeded. So if you're looking for things that will self seed keep these things in mind.
Flowers that self seed
- Celosia
- Snapdragons
- Alyssum
- Amaranth
I warned you about the mass of photos, right?
Good. Because I'm sure about now you're wondering when this will ever end.
In case you ARE wondering - we're only halfway through the photos right now.
All my dahlias were originally planted around 15" apart. That's about right if you want a dahlia border with the dahlias mixing in together and creating almost a wall while still getting enough air circulation around them.
They all need to be staked in some way. Dahlias are big but very fragile and the stems snap very easily. Hollow stems and big heavy flower heads is a real design flaw.
This peachy, sorbetish stunner is Yvonne, and the form is water lily.
This one section along my fence is the fullest. It's where the least amount of dahlias crapped out on me. That's a horticultural society term, "crapped out."
I planted snapdragons once. I can't even remember when it was but I now get a a massive amount of snapdragons in my wall every year. They mutate and cross pollinate and the colours are different every year.
I interrupt this encyclopedia of flowers for this red cabbage. I mentioned that any proper English Cottage Garden should have vegetables.
Two flank the gate to get into my yard. There's also a couple of random potato plants, herbs, and 4 tomato plants growing in the garden.
Welcome back. If you could all take your seats after that brief intermission the dahlia show is about to resume.
Closer to the beginning of the summer this obsidian dahlia was more black than red. In fact, just bringing it in the house where the lighting is so much weaker, it looks black.
Colleen Mooney was the first dahlia to bloom for me this year and that makes perfect sense given the fact that this American Dahlia Society award winner was developed just a few miles from my house.
I couldn't have found a variety that was more local if I tried.
omg I'm getting sick of this. Are you getting sick of this?
Alfred C, a HUGE dinner plate, semi-cactus dahlia. Right after the kale, this is the most commented on thing in my garden.
Pam Howden only just bloomed. The plant is still tiny so it must be taking every last bit of its energy to spurt that out. It was the victim of not getting enough water. With any luck there's a good tuber underneath the soil that I can try again with next year.
THE dahlia of the moment. Cafe Au Lait is almost everyone's favourite and has been for the past few years. It truly is a very light blush with a centre the colour of cafe au lait.
This is good example of how things grow organically with no help from a human and look fantastic. All of this self seeded. The plethora of snapdragons in different colours, the alyssum, cockscomb in the centre and the tall, beautiful Hot Biscuits Amaranth in behind the fence.
Coming in as crowd favourite number 3 is amaranth. There are so many varieties of Amaranth and they grow so big so quickly that they're gaining on dahlias in my heart. This is Hot Biscuits, which I bought from Floret a couple of years ago.
At my community garden I have a few other varieties growing as well. They get very tall and bushy so they fill in a lot of space in a fall garden. Some grow straight up like Hot Biscuits, some droop and trail.
And that is it. My English Cottage garden.
I started this garden 3 years ago.
Around the same time we all started reading this post.
→Follow me on Instagram where I often make a fool of myself←
There's no such thing as too many pictures of an English cottage garden. Thanks for the tour and the dahlia highlights.
About 35 years ago I put in a garden with plants appropriate to my zone and weather and it was the most spectacular English cottage garden ever. In my dreams. But in reality it never got close to yours. I blame the Bermuda grass that invades everything on my property and my decision to stop fighting. So I really love getting to see your successful efforts. People like you make gardens for the rest of us to enjoy.
Please show some pictures of the roses, hydrangeas, lavender, cosmos, snapdragons and other stuff that bloom when their season comes next. Besides the surprises that occur with reseeding, he best thing about these gardens is the ever-changing scenes when one lovely thing fades and makes way for the next. You've got a stunning combination here.
Dahlias are great. They struggle to grow in my garden but I love them.my garden is an English type too but looks a lot like a weed field. I need to do better next spring.
You have a beautiful garden and I enjoyed Every. Single. Photo! I especially liked your Ivanetti and Alfred C. dinner plate dahlias. I never thought I would say this but I love the Hot Biscuit amaranth even more than the dahlias. I'm trying to get my head around the black kale--it looks like something out of the Little Shop of Horrors movie. We've had an odd summer here on the Pacific Northwest coast too. My hydrangeas have not even bloomed. Usually everything grows here--this year I've not even had flowers to bring in the house. 2020 stinks.
Karen, love your sense of humour interspersed with knowledge. I am admiring your amaranth, are there seeds on top, and would birds be attracted to them? Just having fun with birds right now as I'm home so much more. I really enjoy you!
As always, it was fun to read and fun to see what you’re up to...Your blog is the only one I have never unsubscribed from...so that’s pretty special! ;-D
I also love learning horticultural terms, like “crapped out.” Thanks for not being boring and stuffy! Tracy
I am total agreement.
Wow those dahlias and that amaranth , I may have to try them.
So beautiful! My Grammie used to grow dahlias in Nebraska. Her garden was just lovely. I am too lazy to plant and pull the bulbs. But, after seeing all the beautiful variations of dahlias, I might just have to try a few of those you have shared. I have plenty of room as I cleared an area for a medicinal garden and I can find a corner for some dahlias...for eye medicine. Thank you for your wit and fun posts.
Can you please show us how you stake your flowers?
Oh the best way to eat kale is in Colcannon. An Irish dish of mashed potatoes, blanched chopped kale, chopped scallions (controversial!) and literally pounds and pounds of salty butter. What's not to love? Plus it's coming up to Halloween, so it's obligatory...
You inspired me to plant dahlias for the first time ever this year. I tried three different varieties and have loved them but I sure as hell won't dig them up. I plan to dump a ton of mulch on and hope for the best. I live in the teeny tiny country that is Luxembourg but given climate change this winter could either be freezing or mild. They'll have to take their chances just like me.
Thanks for all the laughs and inspiration.
Hi Ciara! I've been telling people, if you only grow a few and you don't want to share the tubers, then just let them croak and plant new ones in the spring again. People do it with plants all the time. :) ~ karen!
Lovely and inspirational!
I'll also add that somewhere in the span of my life I lost 3 years because it seems like yesterday that you started your "new" cottage garden. Yesterday. What have I been doing?
Thank you as always for sharing. I'll be planting dahlias in my front cottage garden next year as well as expanding my food garden in my backyard and getting rid of more lawn. All thanks to your inspiration! Thank you for all that you do and working so hard to share it with us.
Dahlias...should I purchase now or wait until spring?
Hi Emily! I feel like I've been trying to get this cottage garden "right" for decades, lol. I'd buy my tubers as soon as they're available to buy because they often sell out. ~ karen!
Wonderful pictures and love the dahlias! I tried some for the first time this year. They were blooming plants when I bought them in the spring but quit blooming early summer so I pulled them out of the pots for something better(?) Obviously I was unclear on their bloom time. But, for anyone unhappy with the idea of digging up dahlias each year, I have achieved a similar look with Zinnias. They are annuals but are easy to grow from seed and the tall ones look much like dahlias.
Also, love the look of the black kale. I grow blue curly kale that often overwinters here in Colorado which amazes me. Healthy and tough!
Karen, your garden is spectacular and I’m trying very hard not to be envious or a copycat BUT ... do you have a seed source for the Black Magic kale and amaranth?
I live in central Ohio and am attempting to cultivate anything in the rocky clay soil in my yard. Thanks for your fun and informative posts!
You can get the Amaranth Hot Biscuits (and a billion others) from Floret. That's where I got my original seeds. And Black Magic kale should be available from most seed sources. I got mine from William Dam Seeds in Canada but it looks like you can get the seeds in the US from https://www.edenbrothers.com/store/black-magic-kale-seeds.html ~ karen!
What a lovely garden. Thank you for identifying the varieties of dahlias. I do appreciate that so I can order some myself. Thank you for your wit and your talent. They bless my day.
That's nice of you to say, thanks Cindy! ~ karen
I am in awe over how awesome your English garden looks. I have written down some of the my favorites and plan to plant some in the spring. I'm in 5a zone, so we shall see how it works!
You'll do fine. :) But get tubers early because they sell out. And if you can plant them in pots and put them under grow lights by about March. That will increase your chances. ~ karen!
Your Dahlias are beautiful! I can't grow them nor Lily of the Valley, Rhubarb, or Lilacs. Wish I could grow them but have other things to take their place, sort of. I am so glad for all the pictures you provide to fill that little sad empty place in my garden that all my 'wish fors' won't be growing.
Thank you for sharing the photos of your garden. Your dahlias make me remember the beautiful ones my grandmother grew in her yard. I live in Alabama, not sure they would grow here.
Where do you store all of the bulbs you dig up? I have a few and I'm pondering where to put them! Can't imagine where you hide all of yours :)
I used to store the big huge clumps of tubers in plastic bags with the bags open. But they take up a LOT of space. So now I divide the tubers in the fall after digging them and either store them in open bags or plastic bins with the lid off. (in vermiculite) It takes up less space. ~ karen!
Bravo!! Loved the pix.
I did go get another cup of coffee after admiring Alfred C Dahlia. But I came right back, and I’m glad I did. Wonderful post!
Love your writing, and read religiously; trustingly refer to your blog when I’m stuck on how to do something.
Thanks for cracking me up/enlightening me on a regular basis - so very much appreciated!
With admiration from western New York,
Marlene
Thanks Marlene. Western New York! Home of Irv Weinstein! (knowledge of him comes courtesy of living just North of the border) ~ karen!
I just moved out of a house in the city with sizable gardens and was feeling quite smug about the amount of free time I will now have and the fact that I can actually have real manicured nails and wear clothing on the weekend that is not splattered with garden mud. But now I am determined to transform my tiny new garden space into an English garden come spring. D@mn you Karen Bertelsen! 😏
Don't worry. You might have forgotten all about this post and these flowers come spring! Maybe. Possibly. ~ karen!
WOW what a beautiful garden. With the dahlias, do you dig them up before the snow flies??
I'll dig the dahlias up after they've been killed by frost. It will be a miserable day and I will hate every second of it. ~ karen!