Cottage Garden Boundaries

Informality is the key here – as with all other aspects of cottage gardening. If you have an existing fence or wall that is rather stark or very uniform, then you can soften it with planting – add trellis and plant old-fashioned climbers like honeysuckle, clematis or roses – or plant fan-trained fruit trees.

If there is space, a hedge of native trees and shrubs will help give the garden a country feel and will also attract beneficial wildlife.  But do try to be sensitive and appropriate to your surroundings – if you don’t live in the country and neighbouring gardens are neat and tidy, looking too rural can end up just looking messy and neglected – in this case a picket fence with roses and old-fashioned perennials would be much more sympathetic and still have the cottage garden feel.

Cornflowers visible through the fencing.

Another picket fence – this time with entwined with roses.