There’s something undeniably charming about a cottage garden. The wild growing blooms, flowering shrubs and storybook potting sheds feel a world away from the pared-back and practical suburban Australian backyards that so many of us grew up with. However, there are plenty of cottage garden plants that will thrive in an Australian climate, making it very possible to create the whimsical, storybook garden of your dreams right here at home.
If you’re thinking about turning your outdoor space into a cottage-style garden, selecting the right plants is key. Cottage gardens typically feature old-fashioned flowering plants such as poppies, daisies and sweet peas which, luckily, will still thrive in many Australian climates. If you have the space, vegetable patches, herb gardens, chicken coops and potting sheds are also lovely additions to these gardens.
Cottage garden plants
- Roses
- Lavender
- Daisies
- Delphinium
- Poppies
- Pansies
- Snapdragon
- Sweet peas
- Calendula
- Flannel flower
- Hydrangea
- Larkspur
- Hollyhocks
With the right cottage garden plants, you can just as easily create a beautiful garden in a small courtyard as you can with a big block of land — and these 14 Australian cottage gardens show us how.
14 inspiring cottage gardens
Garden designer, Ashley James, has transformed his Australian country garden into an English style cottage garden by using varieties of plants that will survive in the Australian climate.
“It’s British inspired, but very naturalistic,” Ashley shares. “The plants are from places like Mexico and South Africa, where they deal with heat and frost really well.”
This country garden has been lovingly tendered to for over three decades, with it’s plantings chosen for their ability to withstand the area’s scorching summers and frosty winters.
“It’s not a grand garden – it’s a rambly country garden, a shelter and an oasis” says Margot, who the garden belongs to.
This country homestead is surrounded by 100-year-old Bellarine yellow gum trees, pops of purpletop vervain and pretty perennials.
“We wanted to keep the rural bush feeling, and I knew perennials would soften the look of the home,” says garden owner and designer Jason.
Garden designer Ashley James helped a family create a fairytale like garden with romantic plantings and and a pastel perennials in surburban Melbourne.
“The idea was to create somewhere that the kids could play, where the parents could see them from inside the house and know that they were safe. We also created a kitchen garden area so the girls could try growing their own fruit and vegetables,” says Ashley of the lovely space.
Craving a layered cottage garden look for her country garden in rural Victoria, the owner of this garden brought in Tim Pilgrim, whose specialises in creating naturalistic cottage gardens.
“I try to choose plants, not just for the colour of their flower, but for their structure into decay,” Tim says. Flowers peak and die back, with new cast of blooms always following on their heels.
This two-hectare private property in NSW’s Southern Highlands full of romantic beauty.
“The mist on the lake rolls in from the escarpment, creating the perfect environment for cool climate gardening,” says garden designer Colin Blanch.
Set in a picture-perfect spot, this garden’s rustic outdoor area makes even the chilliest of nights a toasty treat. Cascading informal flower beds jostle for space with rural stone and timber landscaping features, while the adjacent lake is the perfect locale for quiet reflection, swinging in a hammock between the towering conifers that form an evergreen backdrop to the property.
Rambling roses, native kangaroo paws and rustic arbours set the scene at this beautiful country house in Victoria, which blends native flowering plants with classic cottage plants.
Wildflower meadows and water features complement this charming property. Evolving with the seasons, garden designer Heath chose plants that would create year-round splendour. “We wanted a garden that could be celebrated throughout the seasons,” he says.
Faced with an empty nest, two avid green thumbs made the move to a remote country property to create the garden of their dreams. However, the cold climate came with some early challenges.
“We’re in a valley, a real frost pocket. We did a lot of research into what would grow here – and even then, plants labelled as cold and hardy shrivelled up and died!”
Where once there was dry, powdery earth, sparse plantings and a plethora of crazy paving is now richly composted flowerbeds edged in neat box hedging, overflowing with native and non-native plants and set alongside cinder and brick paths in this gorgeous mountain garden.
(Photography: Abbie Melle)
Time, patience and a passion for overseas gardens inspire a magnificent Southern Highlands patch that has grown in tandem with its owners.
“We have a love of English gardens and American gardens, which goes hand in hand with my style of decorating,” says interior designer and garden owner Melinda, who also drew inspiration from a “very dog-eared” Paul Bangay book. “We only wanted a green, white and blue garden, and some autumn colours when that came about.”
The restoration of this historic Hobart garden ensures it matches the home in spirit and style.
“The landscape brief was to create the best version of a garden for this style of home – romantic and unique – with a diverse array of plant material,” says garden designer, Myles.
Sprinkled with a seasonal show of vividly coloured plants, lush deciduous trees and sun-dappled hideaways, this garden is a very special, low-maintenance front yard landscape with a sanctuary-like appeal.
This article originally appeared on Home Beautiful and is republished here with permission.
