I am still mourning the loss of one of my favorite magazines of all time, Cottage Living. They always featured the dreamiest little cottage gardens, with yards full of wall-to-wall flowers. I'll try to fill the void a little bit with some of my favorite cottage gardens on houzz.

What makes a garden a cottage garden (you know, besides the obvious "hence the name" answer)? There really are no rules when it comes to designing a cottage gardens. They often include herbs, you can work in vegetables, roses, boxwood, gravel paths, arbors, funky gates, picket fences, hollyhocks, benches, bistro sets, sculptures, birdhouses...you name it. Charming little outbuildings like potting sheds and playhouses always have a home in a cottage garden. Elemental Design Group 1. Don't be afraid to make your guest have a brush with lavender or lamb's ear as they navigate their way to the door. Just don't keep prickly thorns in their path. 2. Consider the critters. You can even have your yard certified as a wildlife habitat! I've seen the signs in a few yards in my urban neighborhood, where we all have about an eight of an acre or less to work with! {environmental concept} 3. Vary shapes of plants. I love the spires of plants like delphiniums and snapdragons, the globes of alliums, the spears of iris leaves all in one space. 4. Think about color palette. Cottage gardens can incorporate every color in the rainbow, or have a sophisticated limited palette like this strictly green and white garden. Elemental Design Group 5. Don't be afraid to plant in every available plot of soil. Mailboxes and picket fences are begging for some floral company. Shades Of Green Landscape Architecture 6. Don't be afraid to do it yourself, but if you are having trouble getting started, hire a professional, especially to prepare the soil properly. This is an old service station here in Atlanta that now houses a garden design firm, and it's just so cute I had to throw it in! Personal Garden Coach 7. Mix ornamental trees and shrubs right in with annuals and perennials. 8. Consider and arbor and a gate. Here are some other ideabooks that show off these garden structures:
http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/4529/list/Through-the-Garden-Gate
http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/4762/list/Under-the-Pergola

Zeterre Landscape Architecture 9. Make sure to inhabit and enjoy your garden when you are not tending to it! Aiken House & Gardens Eifler & Associates Architects 10. Crisp border edges and sculptural elements can lend a more formal look to cottage gardens. Aitken and Associates 11. Make sure you include pathways so that you can stroll through and admire all of your hard work. Blasen Landscape Architecture 12. Don't forget that you can plant on walls - certain species of creeping Thyme are good for this. 13. Incorporate rocks and gravel wherever possible. This can mean a slate patio, a gravel path, stone steps or incorporating existing boulders and exposed ledge. Restyled Home 14. Decorate your outbuildings. It's one place you are always safe to go for funky colors. You really can't overdo it. Austin Patterson Disston Architects 15. Never underestimate the power of the trellis. Whether it's lattice covered in climbing roses or a detail on a garage roof like here, it adds charm to any building. 16. Ditto for climbing roses! 17. Don't think you ever have to have a lawn. Having a garden is much better for the environment than a lawn! 18. Vary heights - here they range from gourds and their vines on the ground up to hollyhocks that are seven feet tall. 19. Welcome the whirligigs! 20. Use an undulating edge when creating a border next to a lawn. AHBL Zeterre Landscape Architecture Shades Of Green Landscape Architecture