I love a good garden project and since I began creating a cottage garden at the beginning of the year my brain cogs just haven’t stopped spinning.
Last June/July I dug up my scraggy lawn and added a Kitchen Garden which I loved, but since acquiring a second allotment I really didn’t need a kitchen garden too. So I decided to take the kitchen garden out and add another herbaceous border to the cottage garden and it’s probably the best garden project decision I’ve made yet!
Whilst tradition has it that cottage gardens were used primarily for crops and medicinal plants, over the years the cottage garden has evolved into a place of quaint chaotic charm and that is the essence I want to capture.
I knew exactly what I wanted, a lovely large curved stone border to mirror my existing stone border. Stone however is VERY expensive to buy and my project was going to cost around £300 pound to build – I don’t have that kinda cash lying around, so my ever frugal self started scrolling eBay and Gumtree, the latter coming up trumps.
I found all my stone for free and from only 2 listings. The beauty of reclaimed stone is it’s already aged so already looks the part. If I had of gone with new stone the border would of been harsh on the eye standing out like a bright yellow daisy in a purple meadow! I wanted the border to look a part of the garden and like it’s always been there.
It was fairly straight forward to put together, the hardest part being lifting all the stone and luckily for me my wonderful mother in law was on hand to help out. I mapped out the shape using string and then began the construction. Being in Yorkshire, drystone walling is something we are pretty nifty at, so staying true to my roots I went down this root, there was no cement involved!
Next was filling the thing with compost! Luckily for me Aldi is just around the corner and they do a brilliant peat free compost for only £1.99 for 40 litres, just when my little car thought all the heavy journeys were over I loaded the car in 2 journeys a total of 800 litres of compost. I’ve added to the mix 200 litres of top soil and some grit for good drainage.
I’m super chuffed with the final look and its really completed the cottage garden look I’m aiming for. The next challenge is filling it with plants. I’ve slowly been collecting plants to fill it with since my birthday back in July. I’ll be sharing with you in a future post of how I’m going to plant up and put the border together, so make sure you stay tuned!
For now though I’d love to hear what you guys visualise me growing there or recommend that I add to the border?
Thanks for stopping by!
Brightest Blessings,
Bo xx
The Bohemian Raspberry 
Wow lady you rock, brilliant finding and hard work but what an amazing space. Really impressed xxx
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Aww thanks lovely xx
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That’s a great job well done , scented plants would be nice 🌱🌱🌱
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It looks amazing. You’ve worked so hard. It’s going to be lively. I started new borders this year and have mixed perennials and a few shrubs for structure with lots of annuals which have been lovely for cutting. I can recommend this. Ive hardly bought any flowers this summer. It’s a satisying feeling wandering out and picking a bunch. It’s been quite successful although also being in Yorkshire everything was late in coming to fruition. I might mix some herbs in next year – fennel, dill, applemint, borage.
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Awesome, all the best with your new project 🙂 – will be interested in seeing how this turns out. I’m in a similar position myself 😉
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Wow! You don’t do things by halves do you! That must have been a lot of hard work but you make it sound so easy (except for your poor car!). Now take a rest for a month. You deserve it but also you need to let the compost settle. When I plant a new border up I cheat a bit – pop in the plants I’ve got but then get a couple of packets of annual seed mixes and sprinkle them around in the gaps. Then you get a full border and also a lot of surprises. And your bank account has a chance to recover as well as your back! Keep us posted please.
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Looks really great. I think all your favourite cottage plants will look amazing there, whether you like Michaelmas daises, Verbena bonariensis, phlox or Echinacea. Have you considered what sort of year round structure you will have? I think Hebe would be ideal, attracting pollinators but providing some evergreen islands even in winter. And I also think the area will really suit growing some edibles in amongst the ornamentals, a few lettuce at the front, some peas and beans on teepees behind, and other crops dotted about amongst the flowers. What do you think?
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How amazing! You’ve worked so hard! I loved the Yorkshire walls last weekend and you’ve nailed the same effect in your own back garden!
I’d definitely go for some relaxing, scented plants and some swaying and rustling grasses.
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Aww thanks lovely! x
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