Create The Look of A Charming Cottage Garden in Your Yard

The efficiency of modern technology requires career driven professionals and business minded individuals to work at a faster pace in order to keep up with the trends. This should not be a problem for a motivated and dedicated worker until the body gives in to stress and results to breakdown. Everybody needs a break from the hustle once in a while and one way to get some peace and quiet is to spend some time in an idyllic place like a charming cottage garden or a nature resort of your choice.

Cottage gardens or villas are some of the practical choices for quiet relaxation. These quaint venues exude an atmosphere of leisure where you can leave all your cares away and simply indulge in the lush colors of nature, the fresh scent of flowers, the cool garden breeze and a pleasant landscape. You can lazily spend your morning or afternoon sitting on a bench with your favorite novel, paint the landscape in a propped up easel just like the old days or sip some English tea and scones while chatting with a friend or a loved one. A weekend or a day spent in this environment guarantees to melt your stress away.

Old-World Charm

There are two ways to avail of an R&R escape to a charming cottage garden. One is to purchase vacation packages in chalets or garden cottages and the other one is to set up your own cottage garden right in your own yard. Those who are looking for more leisure activities are best left to book vacation packages in out of town locations. However, for those who just want to enjoy an afternoon off from the daily chaos then the front or backyard will do.

Creating Charming Cottage Garden Look in Your Yard

There are several advantages of having a cottage garden in your backyard, even you don’t have a cottage. ^_^ First is the convenience and accessibility. You don’t need to book reservations for anything in order to enjoy a quick R&R. All you have to do is step into your backyard and bask in the tranquil environment of your garden.

Second is the therapeutic effect of tending your own garden. Sometimes, doing something routine and ordinary can help us clear our minds and make better decisions. Also, the cost efficiency benefit. Those who stress themselves out to earn a living for the family need not worry about expenses since you can easily build a cottage-inspired garden in your own yard without costing an arm. Plus, you also get to save on booking garden get away vacations that you can already enjoy in your own home. Furthermore, your home’s value also increases when you landscape your garden.

Plan

Time spent on creating charming cottage gardens are well worth it, if only for the stress relief that it brings. It can also be ideal venues for cozy afternoon parties with a few close friends. The value of these quaint landscapes shouldn’t be easily underestimated as it can contribute to taking care of both your emotional and social well-being.

To start off, plan out the look of your garden, and what you would want to be in it. At best, talk to someone who works with gardens and landscapes to give you a rough idea of budget, placing, watering systems, and water installations if you want to. You can also hire a landscaper directly to layout the whole space. Start small, you can do one corner after the other, until you finish the whole lot – and see how each area unfolds to the look you want to achieve.

Buy Good Soil, Tough Plants, Pretty Planters

If you decide to DIY, make sure to buy organic soil, and a mix of good draining soil that’s also porous. Sometimes, the soil that you readily have in the garden is too compact for plants to thrive in.

Roses are the best picks for any garden, as they are tough and pretty whether as a bush or full-grown tree. Pick your favourite colour so you could see them readily from your window every time you look out. You can also include wisteria, bougainvilleas, coneflowers, hydrangeas for your mains, and include poppies, lavenders, silver ragworts, and livingstone daisies for smaller, colorful flowers to fill up the nooks.

If you want to use planters or pots, choose uniquely-shaped ones, wicker ones work too but they tend to deteriorate when wet. Others recycle items that add charm, like old prams, tubs, and such.

Style/Landscape Your Area

If you can, find some boulders to break the clusters of flowers, arranging them in a way that focuses others more. They could well be your focal points,  that which draws viewers to a certain spot or “destination.” A red bench for example also works best as it is something that people can sit on, have coffee at, read a book, an atmosphere that they would always reminisce.

You can also install a koi pond, or a small fountain for the birds. Water landscaping is also a beautiful addition, but that’s for another post.

Other Things to Consider When Creating  A Charming Cottage Garden Look

The minute details that you include in your garden work makes a big difference. To add some more charm to your cottage garden, try including the following.

Lamps

While morning walks in the garden are bright, night time would be a lot different. Installing solar-powered outdoor lights, motion lights, and/or led lights would aid seeing at night and avoid untoward incidents.

Garden Path

Create a foot path that could either be covered with gravel, wood chips or concrete blocks. Garden paths gives way to crowded planting (which is not bad as long as you can still go through).

Picket Fence

White picket fences add elegance and a certain charm in any garden. While not all cottage gardens have them, they just seem to go well together.

There are a lot more trinkets, bric-à-brac that you might fancy to see in your garden. If you have the space, a hammock or a swing would also be a fun addition that the kids (and maybe adults) would appreciate.