The country house garden exudes rural charm and combines French design principlesCottage gardenwith these of classic English landscaping. The focus of the country house garden is on naturalness. Colorful perennials, lushly blooming climbing plants and trees are just as much a part of a harmonious overall picture in the country house style as flower beds. A flower bed in a country house style looks natural and at the same time scores points with well-thought-out planning. We offer you several garden plans and explain how to skillfully combine the plants.
Creating a flower bed in the country house garden: The basic principles of designing an oasis in the English cottage style
The country house garden is one of the most popularForms of garden design. Similar to the classic English garden, when creating it, great importance is placed on clearly dividing the outdoor area into different zones. However, this certain formality is relaxed by the organic design of the individual elements. Colorful decorative beds with meadow flowers and lush shrubs add to the appeal of the garden style. In the end, the home garden appears playful, free and naturally beautiful. The biggest advantage of the country house garden is that it can be realized on both small and large properties. However, the hobby gardener should take a few things into account when planting. These are the most important tips for creating a country house style flower bed:
- ChooseFlowers grow luxuriantly and bloomand plants. You can do this with a simple trick: plant the flowers of one species close to each other. Choose medium to tall flowers that visually separate areas in the garden.
- Combine plants in pastel colors or plants from the same color palette to create a harmonious overall look.
- When designing, pay attention to the flowering times of the various plants and plan the flower bed so that there is a splendor of flowers throughout the entire gardening season.
- Rely on fast-growing classics such as roses or marigolds.
- Don't forget to plan a stylish border. It fulfills several functions at the same time: It can separate the flower bed from the lawn or garden path, making gardening much easier. It also gives the flower bed structure and gives it the desired shape. However, make sure that the bed border looks as natural as possible. For this purpose, you can use natural materials such as stone or wood.
- Plant not only visually appealing varieties, but also scented plants and cut flowers.
Designing a flower bed in the country house garden: Naturalness is very important
When designing a country-style flower bed, the same rules do not apply as usual. The tall flowers do not have to be automatically planted at the back, but rather they are distributed evenly throughout the flower bed. The goal: The flower bed should look as natural as possible. Rely on annual flowers such as daisies that self-seed. These surprise guests are welcome in the country house garden and ensure a harmonious overall picture. Incidentally, this also includes the decorative basket, the Byzantine victory root and the perennial vetch. With these meadow flowers it is guaranteedRomance in the garden.
Also forget about the design principles of modern landscaping. Naturalness is very important in the cottage garden. Garden paths and flower beds with clear lines are therefore out of place. If you want to structure the garden, you can plant boxwood at the edge of the flower bed.
If you have a small oneCountry style gardenIf you want to create a garden, you can forego the lawn and plant ornamental grass in the flower bed instead. Let your creativity run wild and create a flower bed right next to the garden fence.
The garden on a slope presents a major challenge to most hobby gardeners. Instead of dividing the sloped property into several levels, as is often the case with minimalist gardens, try to create a natural transition between the plants.
Creating a flower bed in the country house garden: How to combine the flowers for a harmonious overall picture
To create an effective flower bed, first choose several plants that fit well with the character of the country house garden and set accents with their shape. Richly flowering perennials such as hydrangeas can play the main role in the ensemble. The farmer's hydrangea “Altona” is compact, scores with a long flowering period from July to October and produces old pink to sky blue flowers. The ball hydrangea “Anabelle” is an absolute classic in the country house garden. It is particularly popular for its large, spherical white flowers and its long flowering period from June to September. The panicle hydrangea “Vanille Fraise” is a real eye-catcher in the cottage garden. Its flowers change color from pink to dark red over the summer.
Another important design element in the flower bed are the scented plants. A lavender hedge, for example of the “Blue” variety, at the edge of the flower bed fulfills several functions: It visually frames the garden path, is a wonderful sight and at the same time keeps aphids away from the other flowers. By the way, roses are the perfect combination partner for the lavender hedge.
Roses are one of the most important components of a country house style flower bed. There is a large selection of varieties available in the garden center. Perennials such as the “Getrude Jekyll” and “Munstead Wood” or “Madame Hardy” varieties are very robust and are perfect for a large flower bed. The climbing rose “Kiftsgate” is also a real eye-catcher, especially if the flower bed is arranged around a tall tree. The variety “The Albrighton Rambler” has a compact habit and is therefore perfect for a small flower bed, for example next to the terrace. It also blooms several times a year and therefore ensures the right country house garden look throughout the entire gardening season.
Perennial plants are ideal for the corners of the country house style flower bed. You can fill in gaps and add color accents with flowers such as delphinium, mullein, carnation, carnation and star umbel.
The garden cranesbill “Ann Folkard” cuts a fine figure at the edge of the flowerbed. The flower scores with strong growth and a beautiful purple flower with a black eye.
Flowers such as the carnation root variety “Totatlly Tangerine”, which blooms all summer long and is also suitable as a cut flower, and the meadow rue “Black Stockings” bring variety to the flower ensemble.
Finally, don't forget to add a few late blooming plants to the arrangement. The dahlia, which is considered the queen of the country house garden, the coneflower, which creates a cheerful atmosphere with its bright flowers, and the coneflower, which is a real butterfly magnet, bloom until October. The autumn cyclamen can effectively complete the autumnal ensemble.
Create a country house style flower bed: These flowers are perfect as accents in the country house garden
The country-style flower bed consists primarily of seasonal flowers, fragrant plants and plants that attract bees and butterflies. For variety, display planters and rose arches at the edge of the flower bed. Follow the rule of thumb: the garden should look lush. These plants come into question:
Dahlias
Dahlias are sun lovers. They thrive best in full sun and need a water-permeable, humus-rich soil. The correct planting time can vary depending on the variety, but for most it is the end of May. Dahlias are perfect as cut flowers and exude a gentle scent that attracts bees and butterflies to the garden.
Begonias
The begonias are perfect for the small garden. They thrive in sunny locations as well as in partial shade. Begonias are among the most popular potted plants; they look good as a border on the edge of a flower bed in a country house garden.
Gladiolus
The variety of shapes is crucial for a stylish country house style garden. The gladioli grow tall and can therefore create exciting contrasts. Combine them with rhododendrons and small plants. The gladioli grow quickly in a sunny location. They are suitable as cut flowers. In the country house garden they cut a good figure, especially at the edge of the flower bed.
Tuberosen
The tuberoses exude a strong scent and attract butterflies and bees to your home garden. They love sunny and shady locations and are the perfect partner for gladioli.
Creating a flower bed in the country house garden: Example of a beautiful flower combination
To give you a better idea of how you can combine the individual flowers effectively in the country house garden, we offer you a cottage-style design idea. The plants prefer a sunny to shady location and a loose, humus-rich soil with good drainage. These are the flowers and plants at a glance:
- The red carnation of the “Clifford Moor” variety. The meadow flower is particularly popular because of its pink flowers and is therefore often found in natural gardens. It has a very long flowering period and can produce flowers until the first frost.
- The spring carnation of the “Firewitch” variety is a flower with a compact growth and deeply cut flowers. The feather carnation attracts bees and butterflies to the natural garden.
- The scented stone rich is the perfect companion for the carnations in the country house garden. The plant produces small white flowers that give off a sweet scent in the garden.
- Phlox is one of the most popular perennials in country gardens. Nowadays there is a large selection of different phlox cultivars. In garden centers you can find a wide variety of phlox varieties from early blooming to frost-hardy.
- The California poppy provides flowers in the summer months. Its flowers shine in golden yellow and automatically attract attention.
Before planting, lay a drainage layer of expanded clay. Then distribute the flowers in groups of three throughout the bed. The optimal distance between groups is 30 cm. Fertilize the flowers with an organic fertilizer in liquid form. The plants need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily and need to be watered every three days for the first year. In the second year you can water them once a week. Cut off the wilted flowers regularly. This ensures that the flowers produce new flowers quickly and extends the flowering period.
