The Ph of your soil matters a lot as to which plants you choose. Plant labels aren't always correct, especially regarding color. Sometimes that is an unhappy discovery, when the plant blooms, and other times it works out. Some folks like mono color themed flower beds, and others like a wide range of color.

One lady mentioned recently that she buys one plant in bloom from a local nursery each week. That way she is assured of having blooms throughout the growing season.

In which state/zone are you located? We have one poster, Sierra, in Zone 2, who does wonders in her gardens considering the short growing season limitation of her zone. I live in the desert, which represents a different set of challenges. Garden Web has forums which are for specific regions. I belong to the Southwestern Gardening Forum.

The foundation plants are important to consider, what people here refer to as the bones of a garden, perennials and shrubs. Even if you live where winters are cold, depending upon structure, a gracefully arched leafless shrub could add something of interest in a bleak winterscape. Maybe you want to use shrubs which have berries to attract birds, like pyracantha, cotoneaster and holly.

I have recently widened my scope of consideration regarding plants I like because of rabbit predation upon my gardens. Searching for plants which rabbits are less likely to eat has widened my horizons quite a bit.

Mixing produce plants with flowering plants can create an interesting effect. Japanese eggplant and various peppers are colorful, ornamental additions to a garden. Purple savoy cabbage is a very pretty plant, and makes a terrific garnish on platters for holiday entertaining.

You might want to check out Web sites on companion planting. I use companion plants to deter insect pests. There are plants which naturally do well together, a symbiotic relationship.

Some plants, which just about all of us here seem to love are: catmint, roses, iris, daisy, cone flower, lupine, caryopteris, salvias (sages), and agastaches. Fall is a good time for planting many types of bulbs and perennials.

Lorna

If you start with what you can get at a local nursery you will immediately have a limit on what you can choose. Then you can begin to fine tune to fill specific needs. Two advantages of shopping the local market are first that you will get those bones plants that do best where you live, and second you will get the good ol boring bedding plants that survive anywhere and make you feel successful : ) It took several years for me to get my soil in good enough condition to warrant spending the money to try anything more challenging.
Beyond that, figure out what your bottom line purpose/direction is. Mine is cut flowers. My bottom line question is will this make cut flowers I want to have in my house? Others may be will this look good in winter, does it have pink flowers, does it look cottage, or desert, or tropical, etc? Or as above is it bunny/deer proof?

I would also suggest that if you have a local botanical garden, arboretum, etc make several trips through out the season. You can identify certain planting schemes and individual plants that you are drawn to. Take notes, take pictures. You can even ask them questions about how they find best to care for something.

I always tell friends that ask me for help that I am happy to help but when it comes to decorating and gardens, you know what you like, you just have to pay attention to what you are drawn to naturally. For example, I love ornamental grasses and that is where my eye goes in a large garden setting. I know they aren't "cottage garden" per se but I am drawn to them so I knew that I needed to incorporate them into my garden. I narrowed down the ones I knew were hardy to my zone, saw a lot of them growing at a local arboretum and then chose a few.

Good luck and have fun with it!

I guess creating a garden is a lot like creating a painting.. but instead of paint you're using plants... I am researching about what plants I like and visiting the local nurseries to see what they look like in "real life" rather than in a catalog (I will be getting most, if not all my plants from the local nurseries but I'm using the online shopping stores for initial choosing).

I've always been one to do A LOT of research on a subject I'm new at before I actually jump in and I've been learning quite a bit during the last few months of reading various forums and other websites too... that's why I asked this question here. Because I value everyone's opinion as there's no better advice than the advice from experienced people! :-))

BTW, I live in zone 6 in SE PA. About an hour from Philadelphia in a small town called Yellow House. Nice area. In all our travels around this area I have also looked at gardens and taken notes on what catches my eye... in both design and plant choice. I've been finding that my hubby and I have a lot of similar likes and dislikes but there are some things I like that he doesn't like.

I am currently coming up with a long list of plants that I like, researching about what growing conditions suit each one and deciding how they all fit together. I like a lot of colors and textures to be in a garden but then there's times that I love a garden full of one particular plant. I'm getting closer to narrowing down my choices and everyone on these forums has been helping with that... whether directly or indirectly it doesn't matter but everything I've been reading is helping.

So, thanks to everyone that posts here and willingly sharing information with the community. You guys are an invaluable research source as well as an entertainment source at times too! LOL

ttfn
Mystic.

I love looking at others' gardens. I remember discovering amsonia illustrus, blue star by going into my sister-in-law's alley and looking at her neighbors' yards. I now have several varieties of amsonias. I also go to all of the local nurseries and plant sales and look at all the plants to see what I like.

One thing to remember, too, is that gardens are always changeable. Try things, and if you decide to, you can make changes. You can also get involved in trading plants with local people, and get more plants that way. I know someone who lets her spreading plants ramble all over the place, and some people like that, but I like to try new plants all the time, and don't have a large space, so I keep things divided. I will move plants around if I want to plant something new where they are. I consider myself a plant collector, and not a landscaper, so maybe that's why I do that. I think gardens are always a work in progress.

Early on, one of my biggest mistakes was to make plans on paper for combinations of plants in the right colors and sizes without considering that they just might not bloom together in my particular climate and they might not bloom for as long as I'd anticipated.

An example is the thread just posted here, midnightsmum has beautiful blue anemones. If I'd not had experience with anemones and know that they bloomed here 3 months ago, I'd be wanting blue anemones in June -- won't work.

Consider your garden through the seasons. Pay close attention to gardens displayed from zone 6 and do not fall in love with gardens in Pacific NW zone 8.

Bones -- you know about bones: trees and shrubs and large perennials that shape your beds. I know from experience that my pink and white azalea and dogwood wonderland of late March will be replaced by summer's yellow, lavender and orange, that changes to purples and reds in the fall.

It's all fun; start with what grows for sure in your area and add more as you go along. Irises are a good choice, enjoy.

Nell

Nell, you bring up a good point - blooming times. I am attempting to make sure that I have some sort of color interest in my gardens all year long by choosing plant combinations that achieve that... whether it be by foliage, blooms or structure.

I have quite a large parcel of land to work with and the only problem I'm having is reining myself in due to the simple fact that we don't own it. I know for a fact that if I owned this land I'd have pretty much every available space covered with some sort of garden! I love working in the garden and being a stay-at-home wife gives me ample opportunity to "play" out in the dirt! :-D

The one main thing I've been doing lately is walking over to my neighbor's gardens pretty much every night... she has some lovely beds and she has told me that she is more than willing to give me some of her 'extra' plants that have overgrown their space. She's really kind and been a big inspiration to me. It's also handy to have her gardens available to me at leisure because I can always check to see what type of plants she's growing and know whether they'd do well in my yard. I might have to take some photos of her gardens to post on here. The ability to look over yonder and see her gardens blooming has given me the "gardening bug" now... although I know I have to prepare the soil first to make sure that what I do plant has a good start.

Ok, I'm done rambling here... sorry.

ttfn
Mystic.

Not to go all Zen on you, but the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. lol - so it follows that the perfect cottage garden begins with a single plant. There most likely is one plant you cannot live without...what is it, where would it be in the garden - low growing front, a structural shrub... Diana, Annette and Nell are bang on. I die for some of the scenarios that can be done in zones 6 through 8, but I am a zone 4 (USDA). Sometimes I can sneak a zone 5 plant through, but a zone 6 will end in tears. Be careful in nurseries, too. Anything I would consider 'borderline' I will only buy if it overwintered there, and did not arrive on a transport truck from Florida.

Your neighbour will be a great source of local garden knowledge, and it sounds like a great source for plants. And I wouldn't worry about not owning the land - gardens can be portable and/or you can make all your mistakes there. lol.

Nancy.

when you go to the garden center and walk by, you will hear them calling out to you. "pick me" , "hey you, over here" and "if he gets to go i want to come too". then there are the flirty types. "ain't I pretty" , "you're gonna love me" and "you can't live without me".
I'm a sucker always falling for a good line.

Sadie...yeah, those plants at the nursery talk to me, too. Just a few days ago the electric blue penstemons were whispering to each other as I walked by, "Oh geeeze, she's back. I heard she killed three of us already. Quick everybody...droop!" I bought one just for spite. ;)

-Sharon

LOL sadie ... I know what you mean!

Nancy, you are right, my neighbor lady will be a good source of info. Here's a photo of her garden. I didn't want to go onto her property as she's not home so I just took the photo from the edge of my property.

{{gwi:685820}}

I am looking forward to making mistakes here... as most gardening mistakes aren't usually that bad. Some actually turn out to be quite good!

Thanks to everyone who's replied so far for adding your comments. I hope this thread keeps on going as I'm sure other's will benefit from the suggestions.

ttfn
Mystic.

I love that garden! Hey, I go down every aisle every time I go to where plants are, and let them talk to me, too. My philosophy lately has been to find plants I like, then bring them home and find a place for them. :o)

Sue D.

You know, if it had a fence that neighbor's flower patch is exactly what I thought a cottage garden would look like.

Nell

After dinner this evening I went over and talked to my neighbors... they were both outside so I stopped in. I took A LOT of photos as she was telling me all about each plant. I didn't take a photo over everything she had as there are hundreds of varieties... I should have taken a pad of paper with me though so I could have written down the names to go along with the photos... oh well next time.

I have attached a link to a slide show of the photos I took tonight to show everyone here. She was happy to let me share her efforts with y'all!! So I hope you enjoy.

PS. On one of the lilies you'll notice a couple of bugs... those are beneficial bugs to have in the garden. They are immature Assassin bugs (also known as wheel bugs)

ttfn
Mystic.

Here is a link that might be useful: Arlene's garden plants slide show.

... and she promised to give you some of the extras! Things like bells of Ireland, butterfly weed, larkspur and love in a mist, you can plant seeds from hers.

Some of those lilies may have bulblets along the stalk just underground in the fall. Some you'll need to buy bulbs, but you'll know what you are getting if lilies are something you want. The bulblets take a couple of years to grow on, but are worth the effort.

I would pass if she offers you a trumpet vine, LOL.

Up close it looks like a classic cottage cutting garden. Does she gather bouquets?

Nell

Oh boy does she gather bouquets!!! I have received three from her already and she hands them to a lot of other people as well.

Funny you mentioned me being able to get seeds from some of her plants as she told me that she was going to collect the seeds and put them in little baggies for me for sowing... I'm looking forward to them! As far as the lilies go she told me that she's not going to be digging any up for me (of course) but she also said that the ones that have overgrown their location she would give me if she doesn't have a place for them... I had planned on buying my own though.

I am definitely NOT going to get any of her trumpet vine.. and she said that I don't want it because it's quite invasive in her garden. That vine is climbing up some sort of nut tree.. can't remember what at this moment but she did tell me what it was... anyways, the vine has climbed almost to 40-50 feet!!!! I was shocked when I saw it that high. Surprisingly the tree is quite healthy even though it looks like the vine has penetrated the bark at the base of the trunk.

ttfn
Mystic.