August 19th, 2023
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Kathy and Stuart Pickering created their rustic cottage garden in a stretch of field.
And you can use the same techniques to turn an empty lawn into a haven of colour and scent, filled with butterflies and birdsong.
Their space is equivalent to a long, narrow town garden, measuring around 30ft x 100ft, but the ideas would work in smaller and larger spaces.
And they’ve done it all on a minimum budget, recycling second-hand finds and using virtually no hard landscaping.
Kathy and Stuart created this rustic cottage garden from a strip of field.
Start with a plan
Kathy says she knew what she wanted to do, so didn’t have to think about it too much.
Cottage gardens are traditionally informal, but it makes sense to think about how you’re going to break up the space. There’s relatively little hard landscaping in cottage garden style, which makes it a good budget choice – Kathy’s seating area uses wood chip instead of pavers, the paths are grass and they made the arches themselves from hazel branches.
All the furniture and pots are bought from yard sales, car boot fairs or passed down by friends.
Cottage garden style – a simple, informal layout which you can put together without having to spend money on hard landscaping.
There’s more about cottage garden style and how to achieve it here.
Kathy marked out her garden zones with poles and paths. It starts with an open lawn area at the beginning.
This is the open lawn at the start of Kathy and Stuart’s cottage garden, with an ‘oval’ for pots and seating. Note that the fencing is rustic – with beautiful views, they didn’t need anything more substantial.
Then the heart of the flower garden is a series of four borders on either side of a central path, going down to a second open meadow area at the bottom. If your garden area is long and narrow, this way of dividing it into zones across the space works very well to make it feel larger and blur the boundaries.
An arch and a gate marks off the first lawn area, and then there is a central grass path with borders on either side.
There are more tips for dividing up a long narrow garden here and read this if you have a very small narrow garden.
Kathy hangs dried allium heads on an arch she found discarded in a front garden (she asked the owner and they were glad for her to take it!)
How to create a garden border from scratch
Kathy created her borders in the easiest way. She and Stuart marked out the areas of border by laying down poles and covered this area with cardboard. The cardboard blocks the light, stopping grass and weeds from growing. Then it slowly breaks down over around five months to improve the quality of the soil. By this time, the grass and most of the weeds will have died off.
Kathy and Stuart covered the cardboard with very well rotted manure immediately after laying it down. They have horses, so they used a very old pile of manure, which meant Kathy could plant into the bed just a few weeks later. (If manure isn’t well rotted enough, it could ‘burn’ the plant stems).
Kathy began planting these beds a few weeks later. This called ‘no dig’, and is a much easier way of creating borders than the traditional method of digging up lawn, meadow or weeds with a spade. You can find out more about No Dig For Flower Gardens here.
A rustic cottage cabin
The garden is a short walk away from the actual house, but all gardens feel right when they’re anchored to a building. So Kathy and Stuart have created a rustic cottage cabin which Kathy calls her ‘dacha’.
They made the cabin by building up an old hay wagon, giving it sides made of corrugated iron. They’d recently renovated the corrugated iron roof of their cottage, so they re-used the old corrugated iron to make the ‘dacha’. They also insulated it and painted it inside.
Kathy visits car boot fairs and yard sales, as well as second-hand shops. She also keeps a keen eye out for bits and pieces that are being thrown away. Spotting a set of Victorian glass windows and a door apparently discarded in a front garden, she asked the owner if they were throwing them out. ‘We’ve been waiting for someone like you,’ said the owners, happy to know that their windows and door would have another use in a different place.
It’s important to ask, even if it’s clear that something is being thrown away or is in a skip.
The cabin is raised up, so they built a verandah with steps. They’ve placed planters made of old boxes in front of the verandah, and there’s a wonderful view down the garden over the tops of the flowers.
A rustic cottage garden shed made from an old haywagon and covered in recycled corrugated iron. The door and windows came from a Victorian house.
Top cottage garden plants
There are three ways of getting very cheap or free plants. You can propagate plants, sow from seed or share plants with friends when you divide overgrown clumps of perennials up.
You can also pick plants that self-seed or spread easily, so that your garden fills up without your having to buy too much.
But, as Kathy says, in a cottage garden it doesn’t matter too much what plants you have. You can see what likes growing in your garden and grow more of it. And if you haven’t spent too much money, it matters less if a plant doesn’t survive.
The main thing to check is whether a plant prefers full sun, partial shade or full shade.
Many cottage garden lovers don’t bother with a colour scheme, but Kathy has allocated a white theme for the first few borders (‘except for a few volunteers in other colours that pop up’). The central borders have blues and purples and then the last borders are more colourful.
Favourite white flowers, such as white valerian, echinacea and hydrangeas in Kathy’s white borders.
Verbena is one of Kathy’s top cottage garden plants and it’s planted here with Agastache Blackadder, kale and tomatoes. Cottage gardens mix veg and flowers in the same borders.
The final pair of borders is more multi-coloured with scabious, echinacea, herbs and hollyhocks – all top cottage garden plants.
Rustic cottage garden arches
There is a grass path running down the centre of the garden, with rustic arches placed at intervals. Kathy and Stuart made these themselves out of hazel poles. ‘Don’t use willow,’ says Kathy. ‘It roots too easily.’
They wedged the hazel poles fairly deeply in the earth, then bent them over and secured them with strong ties.
These arches are made of hazel poles, which are less likely to root and grow than willow is.
Upcycling and thrifting – the key to cottage garden style
Rustic cottage garden style isn’t about buying things. It’s about using what you’ve got or finding something that no-one else wants.
One of Kathy’s most innovative upcycling projects was turning an old sofa seat into a pretty, rusting trellis for the side of the shed. It was a sprung sofa seat, so all she needed to do was detach it from the frame, removed the padding and fabric and she had a metal frame to hang on the wall.
The upcycled sofa seat turned into a garden trellis.
Kathy saw this arch (separately from the gate) lying apparently discarded. She checked with the owners who were happy for her to take it away. It already had chicken wire on it, and Kathy ties dried allium heads to it. They almost look like metallic ornaments.
Kathy uses old bins and buckets for planters, along with pots that friends have given her. ‘If someone thinks a pot is getting too shabby for their garden, they know I’ll always use it,’ she says.
See this post for more tips on recycling, thrifting and upcycling in the garden.
See more of Kathy’s rustic cottage garden in video!
Take a stroll through Kathy’s rustic cottage garden in this video here.
Pin to remember rustic cottage garden on a budget
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Karin Schumacher says:
August 20, 2023 at 9:21 pm
Dear Alexandra,
For some reason unknown to me I did not receive your last email of August 19th, 2023.
That is the reason why I subscribe again.
I really like your garden ideal and suggestions.
Best regards,
Karin from GermanyReply
Alexandra Campbell says:
August 21, 2023 at 10:23 am
Ah, thank you – I’m afraid the answer is that I didn’t send an email out. I should have notified everyone, so I apologise and thank you for noticing, with best wishes, Alexandra
PS I had delays in doing the video editing and I usually send the post and video out together on the email.Reply
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Insights, advice, suggestions, feedback and comments from experts
Based on the information provided, it seems that the article is about creating a rustic cottage garden on a budget. The authors, Kathy and Stuart Pickering, transformed a stretch of field into a colorful and fragrant garden filled with butterflies and birdsong. They achieved this by using simple, informal layouts, minimal hard landscaping, and recycled materials. The garden is divided into different zones, including an open lawn area, flower borders, and a meadow. Kathy and Stuart created the borders by laying down poles and covering them with cardboard and well-rotted manure. They also built a rustic cottage cabin using an old hay wagon and recycled materials. The garden features a variety of cottage garden plants, and the authors emphasize the importance of upcycling and thrifting to achieve the rustic cottage garden style.
Now, let's dive into more details about each concept mentioned in the article.
Cottage Garden Style
A cottage garden is traditionally informal and characterized by its abundance of flowers, natural materials, and a mix of vegetables and flowers in the same borders. It is a budget-friendly choice due to its minimal hard landscaping. Kathy and Stuart's cottage garden follows this style, with an open lawn area, flower borders, and meadow [[1]].
Creating Garden Zones
To make the most of their long, narrow garden space, Kathy and Stuart divided it into different zones. They marked out the zones using poles and paths. The garden starts with an open lawn area, followed by a series of four borders on either side of a central path. The garden ends with a second open meadow area at the bottom. This division of zones helps create the illusion of a larger space and blurs the boundaries [[1]].
Creating Garden Borders
Kathy created the garden borders in a simple and easy way. She and Stuart marked out the border areas using poles and covered them with cardboard. The cardboard blocks light, preventing grass and weeds from growing. Over time, the cardboard breaks down and improves the quality of the soil. Kathy and Stuart covered the cardboard with well-rotted manure before planting. This method, known as "no dig," is a less labor-intensive way of creating borders compared to traditional digging methods [[1]].
Rustic Cottage Cabin
To anchor the garden to a building, Kathy and Stuart created a rustic cottage cabin, which Kathy refers to as her "dacha." They built the cabin using an old hay wagon and recycled materials, including corrugated iron from their cottage's roof renovation. The cabin is raised up and features a verandah with steps. Kathy often finds materials at car boot fairs, yard sales, and keeps an eye out for discarded items that can be repurposed [[1]].
Cottage Garden Plants
Kathy's cottage garden features a variety of plants. She emphasizes that in a cottage garden, it doesn't matter too much what plants you have. You can observe what grows well in your garden and grow more of it. Kathy has allocated a white theme for the first few borders, with additional pops of color. Some of the top cottage garden plants mentioned in the article include white valerian, echinacea, hydrangeas, verbena, scabious, herbs, and hollyhocks [[1]].
Rustic Cottage Garden Arches
The garden features rustic arches made by Kathy and Stuart using hazel poles. They advise against using willow for arches as it roots too easily. The hazel poles are wedged into the ground, bent over, and secured with strong ties. These arches add visual interest and can be used to support climbing plants or hang dried allium heads [[1]].
Upcycling and Thrifting
A key aspect of rustic cottage garden style is upcycling and thrifting. Kathy and Stuart repurpose old items and find discarded materials to use in their garden. For example, Kathy turned an old sofa seat into a trellis for the side of the shed. She also uses old bins, buckets, and pots given by friends for planters. The emphasis is on using what you have or finding items that others no longer want [[1]].
These are the main concepts covered in the article about creating a rustic cottage garden on a budget. I hope this information helps you understand the ideas and techniques discussed in the article. Let me know if you have any further questions!
