13 Essential Cottage Garden Plants (Z: 3 - 7)

13 Essential Cottage Garden Plants (Z: 3 - 7)

We showed you all the fun ways to design your own cottage garden. Now it’s time to fill it with fun, useful, fragrant, flowery, cool plants! Here are thirteen we highly recommend ranging from shrubs for structure to edibles for...well, for eating out of hand. Enjoy.

(Plant zones often overlap–please check out the companion post for zones 8 – 11. Link here.)

Ruby Star Coneflower

(Above–in front) The bright purple-pink, daisy-like flowers on sturdy stems make great cut flowers. Full sun. Zone: 4 – 9

Thriller Lady’s Mantle

Thriller Lady’s Mantle
Zone: 3 – 9

A cottage garden must have for the shapely foliage and sprightly, chartreuse flowers. Super easy to grow. Partial to full sun.

Becky Shasta Daisy

Becky Shasta Daisy
Zone: 4 – 9

A go-to cottage perennial (and cut flower), Becky forms a tidy mass  covered in sunny-centered white blooms. Full sun.

Raspberry Shortcake®Raspberry

Raspberry Shortcake®Raspberry
Zone: 4 – 9

Every cottage garden needs a berry plant or two. This thornless one thrives in patio container and in the landscape. Full sun.

Whetman Stars™ Stargazer Pink

Whetman Stars™ Stargazer Pink
Zone: 4 – 9

Heat-tolerant, long-blooming with fragrant, fringed flowers with a deep maroon eye, carried on sturdy stems. Full sun.

Walker’s Low Catmint

Walker’s Low Catmint
Zone: 4 – 9

Few plants so reliably soften the edge of a bed, border or container. This one’s shorter and more compact. Partial to full sun.

Everydalily Pink Wing Daylily

Everydaylily Pink Wing Daylily
Zone: 4 – 10

Hardy, blooms early and steadily all season. When the garden begins to wane in August, count on this for color. Partial to full sun.

Blue Hydrangea® Hydrangea

Blue Hydrangea® Hydrangea
Zone: 4 – 9

The fun of a cottage garden is cut flowers. Hydrangea are a must have (this has black stems)! Partial shade to partial sun.

Faulkner Boxwood

Faulkner Boxwood
Zone: 5 – 9

Brings order to the cottage garden! Faulker is dwarf and slower-growing–perfect for a tidy hedge. Partial to full sun.

Munstead Lavender

Munstead Lavender
Zone: 5 – 9

A classic! Munstead is lower growing so it’s good to edge a bed, but has those famously fragrant flower spikes. Full sun.

Tutti Frutti Apricot Delight Yarrow

Tutti Frutti Apricot Delight Yarrow
Zone: 4 – 9

Brings on the butterflies, blooms in the dog days, nice fragrance, lovely cut flower. Has it all. This one tolerates humidity. Full sun.

Blue Spires Rosemary

Blue Spires Rosemary
Zone: 6 – 10

There are many to choose, but if you’re in the zone, you need a rosemary. Adds structure (and the fragrance!). Full sun.

Blue Mirror Delphinium

Blue Mirror Delphinium
Zone: 3 – 7

Lucky you cold zoners! Tall flower spikes are critical to a cottage garden, adding vertical interest. Partial to full sun.

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2018-04-04 12:03:00
cindy
I heard about this site on the radio. I am in year 2 of creating my garden and live in an area with a high deer population. In addition, temperatures in the winter can dip down into the teens; worse, when there is a wind chill factor added. Your site does not share whether the product is resistant to deer/rabbits; what the the max cold it can tolerate or whether it is drought tolerant. This would be extremely helpful since now I must look up this information separately or check with my garden center. Thank you.
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ZoeCat
These are great inspirations! It would be helpful to have recommendations for drought tolerant perennials for a cottage garden -- unfortunately it seems like the DC region where I garden now has long stretches of drought through the summer and autumn. Many of the traditional cottage garden plants require too much water to be viable or they are unhappy in the clay soil (even after I have heavily amended it for years). There's only so much rudbeckia one can take! :)
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Judy vail
Made a list of recommended plants. My big big problem is I dont make maps or markers to show whats planted where. I have a few of your plants. Other problem/happy thing is that I have an acre to foil around with. I appreciated your advice re the cottage garden. I have hope that whatever I plant this year I will mark! Loved your article. Many thanks. Jydy
reply Reply
Caroline
Can you recommend more shade to partial shade plants?
reply Reply
Mary McCarthy
Thank you for helping me with beauty and zones. We just moved to our 15 acres in Eastern Washington and are looking forward to adding butterfly, pollinator, edibles, hummingbird and animal friendly plants.
reply Reply
Maxine
Thank you for all the wonderful ideas for my garden zone, Wenatchee, WA. I think it is , 4-9. Is that correct? I'm new to this area and am just starting my garden. It seems to be guile windy in April - May. I'm afraid tall plants would be torn too bits. Need any suggestions you might have. Thank you for your help. Maxine
reply Reply
Debbie
Monrovia has the very best website I have found for amateur home gardeners. Everything a gardener needs to know is right here. Monrovia has been an absolute priceless resource to me. ??? ?????
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