7 Cottage Garden Border Ideas to Try This Year

Building a cottage garden is a long-term project and a delightful one at that. Cottage gardens are a wonderful way to express yourself; they can even fit into small yards and borders. You can also grow an incredible assortment of plants in a relatively small space. 

Cottage gardens started as a utilitarian space for low-income households. Their purpose was predominantly to grow food in a limited footprint. Fruit trees, vegetables, and herbs are all staples in this form of gardening. Of course, the inclusion of flowers to make things beautiful, and also to attract pollinators was a feature, always. 

As time passed, this style caught on, gaining popularity and expanding the idea of what a cottage garden should and could look like. Now, this type of space is a great way for you to express yourself and incorporate all of your favorite plants. It’s a way to create a space that is both deliberate and maybe just a bit wild. 

Because this type of space tends to contain many layers, it can fill up quickly. You’ll want to have walking paths to make your way through. Along with those paths, excellent borders are certainly in order. Here are some of our favorite ideas for creating borders in your space. 

Shades of Purple

Purple is the color of royalty, and it’s also a bee’s favorite color! Bees see ultraviolet light, so purple flowers stand out to them. Plant a border with different shades of purple, and you’re certain to have a banner year for blooms. 

You can take many directions with this color family, and each is more beautiful than the last. Purple is one of those color families that is versatile and complements everything. There is a wide array of plants with purple blooms. 

If you’re a cat lover, plant some catmint. These herbaceous plants have violet flower spikes that pollinators enjoy. Your kitty will love hanging out with you in the garden with catmint around. Choose a compact variety like ‘Walker’s Low’ for the border. 

Lavender is a favorite if you have plenty of sunlight. In a cool climate, violas and pansies come in a wide variety of purple shades and grow low to the ground. Purple petunias create a soft edge and have a creeping habit. 

This color inspires creativity and symbolizes dignity, spirituality, and wealth. It manages to be both stimulating and peaceful. Lobelia also works with this color palette and has a sprawling habit. 

Evergreen Edges

For a cottage garden border that looks great even in winter, consider using plants that are evergreen. Manicured boxwoods don’t necessarily fit into the cottage vibe, but if you let them grow a bit wild, they will blend in nicely. Rosemary smells wonderful, and creeping varieties will meander alongside your stone paths beautifully. 

The best thing about evergreens is that they look wonderful in winter. When everything else is brown and bare, an evergreen border stays lovely and welcoming for holiday visitors to enjoy. 

Low-growing juniper works well in this way. Its interesting texture adds interest alongside leafy, herbaceous neighbors. Many wonderful, textural plants stay green all year. 

Dramatic Grasses

Another unique cottage garden border idea to play with is one with ornamental grasses. These have a windswept and whimsical energy that provides movement and personality. Grasses make unexpected elements in the cottage garden, which leans heavily on flowering plants. Liriope grass has the benefit of both grassy texture and showy purple flowers.

Blue fescue grass is a burst of energy with narrow, stiff blades of blue-green. Dwarf bunny grass is perfect for the cottage vibe, and the fluffy flower heads are lovely well into the fall. Cut and dry them to use in dried floral arrangements. If you want something that will stay low and give top billing to other plants, dwarf mondo grass is perfect. 

Aromatic Margins

Anything goes in the cottage garden, which is a true reflection of the keeper. Engage the senses by adding your favorite scented plants to the cottage garden border. Make the space your own with things that make you happy. 

Lavender is the obvious choice for an aromatic border, but it can be difficult to care for in some climates. Consider flowering herbs that retain their fragrance even when flowers aren’t present. Creeping thyme is a stunning ground cover that will hem in your beds beautifully. 

There are ornamental varieties of most of your favorite aromatic herbs, and nearly all of them bloom and attract pollinators. When you step on them, they release their fragrance, so it’s wonderful when they spill over onto your walkways. Choose a sturdy type for this purpose, and allow it to fill in between stepping stones.

Sweet alyssum is a creeping wonder with an incredibly floriferous habit. These sweet little blossoms have a delightful honey-like fragrance. Miniature roses are challenging to care for, but they do add a traditional cottage energy that few other flowers can.

Fanciful Ferns

Do you need a cottage-style border for a shaded area of the garden? Shade is tricky because most flowering plants won’t perform well in it. Ferns, on the other hand, are preferential to cool, shaded areas. 

Ferns have a lovely texture, and as a border, they offer a charming woodland feel. Their graceful, arching fronds curve gently into your walkways and hem in larger plants without overpowering. 

Maidenhair fern is my favorite for any shaded space that stays a bit moist. They do need partial sun, about three to four hours daily. If you’re working with a spot that is more shade than sun, it’s better to skip them. 

If you love the look of fern foliage but crave more color, autumn ferns turn gorgeous shades of orange and red. Japanese-painted ferns are deep blue-green with striking purple veins.

Low Linear Perennials

A perennial border saves time and money, and you get to enjoy it year after year. Combine linear elements that flower for a look that looks planned but varies species and flower colors for that wild, cottage appearance. 

Dwarf blazing stars are showy and attractive to pollinators. Low-growing snapdragons are perennial in warm climates and bloom in the early spring when most perennials are still dormant. Dwarf catmint and salvia are linear and lovely. 

Don’t hesitate to throw some other textures into this mix. Hostas are gorgeous in a border with their large, luxurious leaves. Heuchera is another foliage plant that makes a nice contrast with more linear plants. When it flowers, the spikes will complement their neighbors in form. 

Complimentary Colors

One of the things I love most about cottage gardens is that they truly reflect the creativity of the gardener. I love color, like many gardeners, so a colorful border is the only way to go for me! Using complementary colors is a beautiful way to incorporate a colorful border that still looks well-thought-out and deliberate. 

Of course, this is a cottage garden, so it should have a touch of wild in it, too.  Complementary colors are those that lie across the color wheel from one another. Green complements red, purple complements yellow, and blue complements orange. There are so many combinations that lie between these as well. 

I love this mixture of warm red, orange, and yellow nasturtiums with the cool blue-violet of borage. There is a wonderful balance and harmony in these colors. If their beauty was not enough, all of these flowers are edible and are perfect for decorating pastries and garnishing your tea tray.