Bulbs to plant in a cottage garden
Years ago I fell in love with cottage style gardening. Through stacks of good books, a few favorite blogs and YouTube channels, I nurtured that love and learned a whole heck of a lot about the topic. Like any other garden anglophile, I developed a crush on Monty Don and began watching Gardener’s World. I soaked up as much knowledge as I possibly could. The right types of plants to use, the ideal colors to shoot for, the layout and additional structures to add to achieve that cottage garden look and feel.
Even though our little cottage leans more Scandinavian in architecture, the cottage style garden is still a perfect fit. This style of garden adds so much character, personality and individuality to a home, and allows the gardener to really explore a wide variety of plants. Some of my favorites being BULBS.
What makes a cottage garden
Most of us can picture a rural English cottage: thatched roof, pea gravel path leading to a quaint front door, surrounded by wild, wispy flowers. “Cottagecore,” a strange term describing such things has been an Internet sensation the last few years. But despite the online trend, cottage gardens are nothing new.
So what really makes a cottage garden cottage-y?
- Soft colors in a similar colorway. Typically cottage garden flowers have soft colors like pink, peach, purple, blues, whites, creams, blushes and magentas. This is the color scheme I have stuck with in my cottage gardens. It makes everything feel unified and at the same time, free flowing.
- Flowers with height. There is nothing more cottage-y to me than Foxglove. Hollyhocks are delphinium right up there as well. Tall flowers with spires that sway in the breeze.
- Full beds with very little bare ground. In America, it is very common to have large beds with a few shrubs and great expanses of bark dust or wood chips. Cottage gardens take the opposite approach, plants often growing into and through one another, barely a hint of ground to be seen.
- Very few shrubs. Also uncommon in America is the lack of shrubbery. Though I have integrated a few structural arborvitaes into my cottage garden so there’s something there in the Winter, the majority of my beds are full of perennials. Flowers, flowers, flowers.
Bulbs I planted in my cottage garden this year
It can be difficult to bring yourself to spend time and money on the garden after a long summer. Many years the garden burnout settles in in late August and the last thing I want to do is order and plant bulbs in the Fall. But without fail, every time I go to the effort, spend the money (no matter how small), come Spring, I am SO very glad I did.
This year I ordered my bulbs from Holland Bulb Farms and found their prices and selection to be really great! Here’s a few bulbs I tucked into the soil in my cottage garden this Fall.
Tulips: Black Hero. Menton. Not wanting to stray too far from the bulbs I’ve planted in this garden previously, but at the same time branch out a little, I chose Black Hero and Menton. Black Hero is similar to the deep purple Queen of the Night I love so much, but is a double petaled variety. They almost look like peonies, which I love so much. The Menton is as close as I could get to my precious La Belle Epoques, which are always sold out by the time I get to them.
Hyacinth: Giant Mixed Hyacinth. I went with a grab bag of hyacinths this year, which are such a quintessential cottage garden flower in my book. They come in mostly soft colors, they bloom early in the season when life and color is so needed, and they have such a unique shape and petal formation. I often think they look like cotton candy or an ice cream cone. Good enough to eat.
Muscari: Also known as Grape Hyacinth, these dainty little guys are perfect tucked in and around the rocks that line our path. I got a jumbo pack and planted them in 1-2 foot runs along the gravel walkway.
Allium: Allium lend such a cool shape to any garden, and remind me of a magic wand. I went with the Blue Alliums this year, tucking the tiny bulbs in the soil in clusters of 6-8. I think the little blue balls growing up between my more pink roses and peonies in the Spring will be so lovely.
Peony: I haven’t bought peonies in years because I haven’t had anywhere to plant them, but now that the Cottage Garden is finished, I finally can! Eden’s Perfume was a great price and such a pretty pale pink, I just had to have it!
How do you plant flower bulbs?
- To plant a flower bulb, you simply dig a hole twice as deep as the bulb itself. I use this handy tool to make digging much easier.
- Then take your bulb and set it in the hole (or trench) with the roots down and the pointy end up.
- I like to leave all the bulbs I’m planting uncovered until I have them arranged how I would like. Makes it much easier to see where you’ve planted.
- Cover with dirt and dream of those beautiful Spring blooms ahead! If you live somewhere where the ground freezes solid, you will likely need to go a little deeper. Check your Zone recommendations or consult with the seller of your bulbs.
How do I arrange bulbs in my garden?
- Cluster. I have learned over the years that quantity is more powerful than variety. Spend your money on just a few varieties of bulbs you really, really love, and each year add more of the same bulbs. I have done this with my Queen of the Night tulips in the cottage gardens. All the little dark purple bunches made the garden look full and lush.
- Along a path. We have a somewhat long, rock-lined path from our driveway to our front steps. I’ve chosen to plant the same tulips all along the path, as thickly as I can, and they makes such a lovely effect as they gently trace the curves of the walkway.
- Containers. I have never tried container planting bulbs myself, but Monty Don talks about it all the time and I’ve just got to try it one of these days. He will often employ the “Bulb Lasagna” method, which means planting layers of different bulbs that will bloom at different times, creating a container of continuous flowers throughout the season.
My favorite sources for cottage garden inspiration
I would be remiss to not mention first and foremost, Gardener’s World. If you aren’t watching Monty Don, king of British gardening, every Friday night- especially in Winter– you are truly missing out. Watching Gardener’s World on Friday evenings is one of my favorite ways to survive the colder months. Here are a few of my other favorite ways to get in the mood for cottage gardening.
Books: English Cottage Gardening by Margaret Hensel. Tasha Tudor’s Garden by Tovah Martin. The Cottage Garden by Christopher Llyod.
Magazines: The English Garden Magazine.
YouTube: The Elliott Homestead, Parisienne Farmgirl, Monalogue.
My favorite tools for planting bulbs in the garden
Bulb planter. Bulbs planters are a must. While they obviously don’t work as well for a large bunch of bulbs together, especially for tulips, they’re a great tool to have.
Spade/Trowel. A basic spade will take you a long way when planting bulbs in your garden. I use this tool for digging larger areas for bunches of tulips or trenches for my Muscari.
Garden Gloves. I am in LOVE with this pair of garden gloves. They are light and flexible, yet warmer than the Nitrile gloves, plus they have reinforced fingers so they don’t wear through as quickly. These are a MUST!
Are you planting fall bulbs?
What bulbs did you buy this year? Are you planting them in your garden this Fall? If you are worried it might be too late, check out this post for all the info on planting your Fall bulbs. Leave a comment with all your plans for bulbs this year!
And pin this image so you can keep track of all my tips and tricks for planting bulbs in your cottage garden. Or so other aspiring gardeners can find this post.
Happy Fall gardening friends! Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my MAMA! Who has cheered me on, encouraged me and bought me endless bulbs for my gardens over the years. I love you Mom!
