Do you dream of a private Cottage Garden Paradise within your very own backyard?
However you aren’t in a position to build a Privacy Fence.
Planting Privacy Plants in a Cottage Garden is an Alternative Privacy Fence!

Oh how you love your beloved neighbor, but how you sometimes just want to wash away your day in a bit of backyard privacy. Put up a Privacy Fence…simple, right? Not so fast…many Homeowners Associations also called HOA are full of restrictions. No privacy fences is one of the many bolded letter codes within the Homeowners Association Handbook.

We were once in your exact situation, we have since moved out of an HOA and the yard featured in this blog, having since built our current dream Cottage …but that’s a whole other story. This story is to help inspire you to create the Private Cottage Garden of your Dreams without breaking all the rules.

WHAT IS A COTTAGE GARDEN:

The Cottage Garden is defined as being undefined with a dense surroundings of plantings.
Many times old fashion plants are used like Hydrangeas, Roses, Daisies, and other Perennials.
Cottage elements like picket fences, whimsy and benches also fill the garden; the things that make you simply want to say “awwww” A Cottage Garden often has no rhyme or reason, and often shares it’s beds with flowers and edibles. It’s simply a layered garden that makes you want to wander through it’s cottage charm!

PLAN:

Our first word of advice is to plan as much as you can.
We created our own plan using photo shop. There are many great books on garden planning that may be of help as well. Here is our plan that came in super duper handy throughout.

WHAT IS A PRIVACY GARDEN:

This is a fairly simple answer of deferment.
A privacy garden is simply a place within a garden in which you are private.
…and one knows there are those times you would just like to be alone as one within the nature that surrounds you.

You are probably wondering right about now, how you can enjoy a “Cottage Garden” while living within an HOA full of structured rules?

Well, it’s easier said than done. We are here to tell you that we did it and you can too!
Our Homeowners Association stated we were to submit a structured garden plan for HOA approval.
Now how in the world could we do this if we dreamed of an unstructured cottage garden?
Our trick and tip to you….submit only your “base plantings” like hedges and trees. Once approved then you typically should be good to go! Or at least we were! Thereafter have fun choosing your cottage like plantings to flow around the structural plantings.

COTTAGE GARDEN PLANTS:

As mentioned before, there really is no strict rule to the unstructured beauty of these plantings.
There are just a few suggestions to inspire your lovely cottage inspired garden.

HYDRANGEA:

The Hydrangea is a cottage favorite, especially in the South!
There’s just something about those big ball of flower fluff!
Hydrangeas come in many variates like the Mophead, the Lacecap, and Oakleaf.
Their colors range from purple, blue, pink, white and other variations.
Hydrangeas are typically shade loving plants, however there are varieties like the “Little Lime Hydrangea” and “Little Lamb Hydrangea” that do enjoy more sun. Here is a beautiful Hydrangea book if you’d like to learn more about these beauties!

HYDRANGEA FUN FACT:
You can change the color of your hydrangea bloom by adjusting the soil.
To encourage blue blooms in alkaline soils, you will want to add aluminum sulfate. Coffee grounds, oak leaves, and pine needles may also work.
To encourage pink blooms in acidic soils, you will add lime or fertilizers containing high amounts of phosphorus. Adding wood ashes may also help.

ROSES:

Roses will forever be the romantic charmer within the garden!
The smell, the array of colors, and the simplicity beauty shines throughout any garden landscape.
They come in a rainbow of beautiful colors from pink, purple, white, yellow, peach, coral, apricot, multi-toned and yes even black (which is actually a very very dark red)
There are so many species of roses, in fact over 150 species! Rose Plant varieties are Hybrid Tea, Floribunda, Grandifloras, Shrubs, Climbers, Miniatures, and Trees.
Roses prefer full sun, however I have seen many flourishing within a shady spot.
For an Easy Rose Growing guide, you may enjoy this rose book.

ROSE FUN FACT:
Each color of rose has a different meaning. Yellow roses means friendship, red roses means love, coral roses mean desire, white roses mean purity and black roses sadly mean sorrow.

DAISY:

Oh the sweet simplicity of the Daisy, one of my personal favorites!
Daisies just seem to have a way of making one happy! Possibly because of the “Happy Daisy Effect” resulting in a bright cheerful effect. They are represented perfectly within this Daisy Nightlight...so pretty! They present themselves in a color swatch of simple white and yellow. No they may not be offered in an array of colors like the other cottage garden favorites, but they sure do have a way of gracing the garden with their sweetness. The Daisy does indeed have a few types of daisies like the Shasta Daisy, the Becky Daisy, and there is even a Crazy Daisy!
These graceful ones enjoy full sun and love to be deadheaded in order to produce more flowers.

DAISY FUN FACT:
Their beautiful bloom is actually two flowers in one!
That’s right, the white and yellow are separate little flowers….however we feel much like peanut butter and jelly, they wouldn’t be one without the other.

PRIVACY PLANTS:

Privacy plants will be the perfect backdrop for your cottage garden!
These plantings can also be referred to as property line plantings.
They will indeed have a bit of structure in the unstructured world of your cottage garden.
After all, someone has to keep the outlaws in line!

ARBORVITAE:

The Emerald Green Arborvitae has become a staple throughout privacy gardens!
Providing an evergreen hedge, foundation plant, or property line plant is what they are known best for.
Green is their choice of color, a bright green to be exact. If they start to turn brown you know your arborvitae is no longer happy.
They are unscented with a soft to the touch feel and enjoy full sun. They can grow up to 12 feet and 3 feet around.
Keep this in mind unless you’d like them to form a hedge which is what we were going for.
Using Arborvitaes to create pathways is also a fun way to create a layered wondering feel throughout the garden.

ARBORVITAE FUN FACT:
The Arborvitae produces both male and female flowers on one plant.

PLANTS ALSO PICTURED:

Plant choices for a Cottage Garden can be endless!
Here are also a few plants pictured we haven’t mentioned:
Leeann Cleyera, Camelia, Candy Tuft, and a variety of perennials.
Also don’t forget to add fun touches of whimsy like LandScape Lighting and Funny Faces!

I end this garden blog of inspiration by simply saying….

“To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow”

Thank you for enjoying my Blog!
I sure do appreciate it and would love to hear from you in the comments!
Peace, Love, and Simple Living Friends!
~Erin