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English country garden ideas
Tips for planting an English country garden – from how to a create a well-planned herbaceous border, to achieving a romantic country look whether you have a cottage garden or a rambling farmhouse.
The dream of a country garden is an enduring one – who wouldn’t want a soft heaven of tumbling flowers and verdant lawn to dwell in. Even if you aren’t lucky enough to have an idyllic cottage or farmhouse there are ways of getting the look, even within small city gardens. Whether you want effortless drifts of perennials in herbaceous borders or manicured topiary, let us show you how to transform your garden into a place of beauty and delight…
COVER THE WALLS IN WISTERIA
If you’re lucky enough to have a brick wall, cover it in wisteria. If your wall is moderately tall the vines will quickly scale it and each year you will be rewarded with the most beautiful spring display.
CREATE A TRADITIONAL VEGETABLE GARDEN
Dedicate a corner of your garden to a traditional vegetable garden. Rhubarb plants are not only delicious but rather beautiful – we recommend investing in terracotta forcers for the sweetest rhubarb and aesthetic satisfaction.
SOFTEN A WALL WITH CLIMBERS
A tangle of climbers is always a soft romantic look. Here at Bowood House in Wiltshire a combination the gardener has used a combination of of Clematis armandii and red roses.
EDGE YOUR LAWN WITH BOX BALLS
Edge your lawn in manicured box balls – here at Tania Compton’s Wiltshire home they provide a formal border to looser border planting beyond.
EMBRACE THE WILD
Encourage wild flowers such as foxgloves and don’t over-manicure your trees. If you don’t have hours to spend on topiary go for a loose and effortless look.
BECOME A TOPIARY MASTER
Topiary is the perfect way to add structure to your country garden. In this Cotswolds garden box hedges, beech trees and walls of topiary yew lead to a gothic window.
CREATE MANICURED BEDS WITH HERBS AND TOPIARY
The Oxfordshire garden of art dealer, writer and broadcaster Philip Mould, has an array of small formal beds with little box topiary shapes intersperced with herbs such as lavender and sage.
DOT YOUR BORDER WITH ALLIUMS
At Bluebell Cottage and Nursery borders of soft grasses, geraniums and phlox are dotted with the purple globes of alliums.
PLANT A PROFUSION OF FRENCH MARIGOLDS
Plant a profusion of ruby red french marigolds to edge vegetable beds or sweet peas – their vibrancy tempts away bugs which would otherwise eat your prime plants.
INSTALL AN ARBOUR
A metal arbour adds instant romance – swathe it in roses, wisteria or a grape vine – as here in Thomas Hoblyn’s garden. Find similar arbours at Harrod Horticultural.
PLANT A BEARDED IRIS
Bearded irises add height and structure to any border – here in Jinny Blom’s London garden she has planted ‘Dusky Challenger’, an inky purple variety.
CREATE YOUR OWN HAZEL OBELISKS
Create your own hazel obelisks using coppiced wood. If you don’t have any trees to coppice you can buy these cheaply online – try Rivenwood – or from farm shops.
GROW RAMBLING ROSES UP OLD APPLE TREES
If you have inherited an old orchard grow a tumble of rambling roses up your trees and create a soft meadow with grasses and daisies below.
INVEST IN AN IRON OBELISK
If you invest in an iron obelisk for your border it will add year-round structure and can be used as support for everything from sweet peas to clematis or roses.
LAY A GRAVEL PATH
Gravel paths are the perfect accompaniment to soft billoughing planting, such as this scheme devised by Tom Stuart-Smith. Plant herbaceous plants such as salvia which will spill onto the pathways and soften edges.
PLANT A HEDGE OF ROSES
Create a hedge formed of rose plants – Rosa Rugosa works well for this as it forms glossy red hips in winter Rosa ‘Wild Edric’ from David Austin Roses is a highly scented beauty.
FRAME A DOOR WITH STANDARD BAY TREES
Flank a door with a pair of glossy standard bay trees. At Taddington Manor, the door to the 1844 Cotswolds barn is framed with two bay trees planted in Architectural Heritage’s large square copper planters – a design based on an antique Victorian example. The clipped bays are about the same height as the door, adding to the satisfying orderliness of the scene.
CREATE A CANOPY FOR YOUR GARDEN BENCH
This Cloisters Seat bench from Gaze Burvill is canopied with a living willow arch. Willow is pliable and will root in most places, making it perfect for creating verdant garden structures.
CREATE A SLOPING BORDER
Isabel & Julian Bannerman have created wide sloping borders in their Cornish garden. These display a lush jungle of herbaceous plants and are bisected by shallow steps and wooden obelisks.
CREATE A PERGOLA FOR SECLUDED SEATING
Create secluded and romantic seating by constructing a square pergola, draped with white wisteria. Traditional bistro seating completes the look.
PLANT A HERBACEOUS BORDER
Planting a herbaceous border filled with perennials is a wise move for those in favour of the country garden look. Each year you are pretty much guaranteed a bigger and better display as your plants grow and you divide them. Here at Arne Maynard’s Allt-y-bela an area of herbaceous planting borders the kitchen garden.
A COURTYARD ADDS ANOTHER ROOM TO A HOUSE
The owners of this Grade II-listed Kent barn conversion consulted the architect Thomas Croft, who remodelled and extended the space to give them the indoor-outdoor lifestyle they craved. The seating area in the courtyard garden is designed by Kate Gould.
ADD COLOUR TO ESTABLISHED HERBACEOUS BORDERS
The Victorian walled garden in an English flower garden at Wardington Manor in Oxfordshire. The traditional herbaceous borders are now planted with delphiniums, adding colour to the establihsed perennial borders.
