12 Best Plants for an English Garden

Few garden styles are as romantic and welcoming as the English cottage garden. To create this look, you must choose plants that grow through and around each other, as though they have been growing together for years. Although the overall effect is casual abandon, English cottage gardens require careful editing if you don’t want to end up with chaos.

Here are some top plants to achieve an English garden look.

• 01of 12Peachleaf BellflowerRoel Meijer / Getty Images Several wonderful bellflowers will light up your garden. The peachleaf bellflower (Campanula persicifolia) stays in bloom most of the summer. Its long stems and abundance of buds make it a great cut flower and welcome garden plant.Unlike some Campanula species, the peachleaf bellflower does not self-sow to the point of becoming a nuisance but do expect it to pop up in different spots each successive year. They are a welcome sight.
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 8
  • Light: Full or partial sun
  • Soil Needs: Loamy, sandy; alkaline, neutral
  • Mature Size: 6 inches to 2.5 feet
• 02of 12Cottage PinksIgor Galich / EyeEm / Getty ImagesCottage pinks (Dianthus x allwoodii) have spicy-scented flowers and fringed petals, typical of Dianthus species. Pinks are short flowers, so keep them toward the front of your garden border. You will enjoy their scent more if you plant them where you will brush up against them.New varieties are introduced yearly, often in non-traditional colors other than pink. They are very drought-resistant and, because of their fragrance, not usually bothered by animals. However, butterflies love them.
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 9
  • Light: Full sun
  • Soil Needs: Moist but well-drained; neutral to acidic
  • Mature Size: 6–36 in. tall, 6–24 in. wide
• 03of 12DelphiniumOlga Murina / Getty ImagesDelphiniums can be temperamental plants, but they are worth the extra effort. Although they can withstand quite cold winters, high heat and a lack of moisture during the summer can make them short-lived.These cottage garden standards can use a sheltered spot in your garden so the tall flower spikes do not get knocked down by wind or rain. Deadhead the spent flower stalks down to the ground level for repeat blooms. Delphiniums will bloom well into fall and can withstand light frosts.
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 9
  • Light: Full to partial sun
  • Soil Needs: Moist, well-draining, neutral pH loam
  • Mature Size: 6 in. to 7 ft. fall
• 04of 12Hardy Geranium ClaraNila / Getty Images Hardy geraniums (Geranium spp.) are not the same plant as bright red Pelargoniums, otherwise called zonal geraniums. They are also called cranesbill geraniums and are low, mounding plants that fill in around the base of taller plants and intermingle easily. Traditional hardy geraniums bloom once, although the flowers can last several weeks.Newer varieties, such as the amazing ‘Rozanne‘ will flower throughout the summer, with no deadheading needed. If your plants start to look a little bedraggled by midsummer, shear them back, and new growth and flowers will appear within a couple of weeks.
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 9
  • Light: Full to partial sun
  • Soil Needs: Medium moisture, well-drained
  • Mature Size: 6–36 in. tall, 1–3 ft. wide
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• 05of 12HollyhockMarcel ter Bekke / Getty ImagesFew cottage flowers are as delightfully charming as hollyhocks (Alcea rosea). Many gardeners grow them because they remember giant plants that could easily reach heights of 8 ft. or more, making them vertical accents for any part of the garden.Hollyhocks also make excellent screens if you are trying to camouflage an eye sore in your yard, such as an air conditioning unit or a compost pile. You can choose from old-fashioned single flowers and fluffy double flowers. Give your hollyhocks a spot with good airflow. If they remain damp for long periods, they can develop rust fungus.
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 10
  • Light: Full to partial shade
  • Soil Needs: Moist, well-drained
  • Mature Size: 8 ft. tall, 1-2 ft. wide
• 06of 12Japanese Anemone Credit: Jo Whitworth / Getty ImagesFor late-season splendor, nothing beats Japanese anemones (Anemone x hybrida). Their bobbing, airy nature is perfectly at home in cottage gardens. Japanese anemones need moist but well-draining soil. The plants can reach 4 ft. tall and may need some staking, especially the double-flowered varieties.’Honorine Jobert,’ a white-flowering heirloom, has received much attention lately, but Japanese anemones also come in shades of pink, purple, and rich mahogany.
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 8
  • Light: Full to partial sun
  • Soil Needs: Moist, well-drained; acidic to neutral
  • Mature Size: 36 to 48 inches
• 07of 12Lady’s Mantle Photo: Anne Green-Armytage / Getty ImagesLady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis) is a fixture in most cottage gardens. Look for it sprawling along pathways and hiding the lower stems of roses. The cup-shaped leaves have a layer of waxy fuzz that grabs hold of water droplets and rolls them about.Delicate sprays of chartreuse flowers form the perfect complement to the rich green foliage. These are very low-maintenance plants. They look better if you remove the flower stalks after blooming and allow the fanciful leaves to take center stage.
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 8
  • Light: Full to partial sun
  • Soil Needs: Medium moisture, well-drained; acidic to neutral
  • Mature Size: 12–24 in. tall and wide
• 08of 12Lavender Fred Bahurlet / EyeEm / Getty ImagesEnglish gardens are renowned for their lavenders (Lavandula spp.)
  , such as the much sought-after “Munstead,” with its purple-blue flowers and the rich purple flowers of “Hidcote.” These varieties are well suited to England’s misty, temperate climate.If you live in less than temperate conditions, take heart. There is still a lavender for you to grow. Remember that more lavender plants die from too much water than from too little. Give them well-draining soil.
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
  • Light: Full sun
  • Soil Needs: Dry, well-draining, alkaline
  • Mature Size: 2–3 ft. tall, 2–4 ft. wide
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• 09of 12Peony The Spruce / Evgeniya VlasovaAlthough peonies (Paeonia officinalis) have a brief flowering period, they are stunning and fragrant when they bloom. Nothing else in the garden matters. The foliage can look good for the rest of the season, particularly when the leaves turn red in the fall, but watch out for botrytis or gray mold in humid conditions. Peony plants can live for decades if they are happy in their surroundings.
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 9
  • Light: Full sun
  • Soil Needs: Well-draining; slightly acidic to neutral
  • Mature Size: 3 feet tall and wide
• 10of 12PhloxAriel Feinerman / Getty ImagesGarden phlox (Phlox paniculata) is a star in the heat of late summer. Their flower clusters can last well over a month.Older varieties of phlox were prone to powdery mildew, but thankfully, they have bred new types that stay beautiful no matter how humid your summer gets. The hummingbird moth is a phlox pollinator, so expect some visitors.
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 8
  • Light: Full to partial sun
  • Soil Needs: Moist but well-drained
  • Mature Size: 2 to 4 ft. tall, 2 to 3 ft. wide
• 11of 12PrimroseNature Picture Library / Getty ImagesYou can’t get much more British than the primrose, an early-season bloomer with some of the brightest spring flowers. Primroses are woodland plants and will happily naturalize under trees, but any lightly shaded spot will do.The English primrose (Primula vulgaris) can produce multiple flowers per stalk and has a wide variety of colors. There are also flamboyant Japanese primroses (Primula japonica) that can reach 3 ft. tall and the extremely hardy cowslip (Primula veris) with fragrant yellow flowers.
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 8
  • Light: Partial sun or shade
  • Soil Needs: Acidic; moist, well-drained
  • Mature Size: 6–20 in. tall, 8–20 in. wide
• 12of 12RosesJacky Parker Photography / Getty ImagesIt’s hard to imagine an English garden without roses. Climbing roses with an arbor or arch to climb over will definitely lend a cottage its garden charm. Shrub roses can do double duty as support for sprawling plants and delicate vines like clematis. Be sure to check out some of the modern English roses, with their disease-resistance and heavenly scents.
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
  • Light: Full sun
  • Soil Needs: Acidic; loamy, well-drained
  • Mature Size: 3-8 ft. tall, 2-3 ft. wide

FAQ

• What is the most common English garden flower?Roses are a must-have flower in an English garden.
• What are the elements that define an English garden?An English garden can mean many things, depending on the type, such as an English formal garden or a more natural cottage garden. The differences lie in how landscaped and manicured you want it to be, such as with neat hedgerows and water features or more naturalistic and informal, looking windswept while having an underlying layout plan.
• What is England’s national flower?The rose is the national flower of England, particularly the Tudor rose from the House of Tudor, the house that unified England after 100 years of civil war known as the War of the Roses.