Select Your StyleDetermine which type of garden you prefer

A gate grade the transition between expanse in this English - style garden . photograph by : Elliot Hook .

If you ’ve ever been inspired by classic English gardens but are frighten off by creating one yourself , there are many different way to incorporate this designing style into your landscape . You do n’t involve to own a state estate or large holding ; even those with little yard can replicate the show of an English style garden .

If you do n’t want to completely revamp your yard , you may still incorporate vista of English garden here and there . By follow a few introductory design principle , you’re able to accomplish the look of a quaint English garden in your own yard . Here are some English garden ideas to get you start .

Brick Arch, Herbaceous Border 
Garden Design
Calimesa, CA

On this varlet : English Garden Elements|How to Design an English Garden|English vs Cottage Garden Style

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Also see : English Garden Flowers & Plants

Brick Arch, Herbaceous Border 
Garden Design
Calimesa, CA

ENGLISH GARDEN ELEMENTS

English gardens consist of hardscaping and formal hedging to impress a gumption of gild , with less courtly planting borders as a counterbalance . let in some or all of these English garden elements to create compelling visual pastime and timeless appeal .

1. Garden Rooms

Create a serial of garden rooms with unlike functions , which will make your yard feel bigger . Enclose these region with hedging , fencing , screening , gates , or wall . Learn way .

Use a fence , wall or fudge to separate garden rooms . photograph by : Bonnie Kuchler and David Nadalin of Nadalin Photography . See more of this garden .

2. Pathways

Addpathwaysto plug into garden rooms and provide a space to walk . distinctive English tract are construct of brick or stone pavers . For a more eco - friendly result , use spaced flagstones , crushed crushed rock , mulch , or other permeable surface that admit water to percolate into the soil rather than run off . Instead of a traditional square - blood line pathway , create meandering paths for a sense of machination .

A traditional English garden includes a square pit or brick nerve pathway . Photo by : Elliot Hook . See more of this garden .

3. Water Features

Water featuressuch as ponds , streams , waterfall , run , fountains , and birdbaths impart reflections and the soothing phone of actuate water . Grand multi - tiered fount made of stone or concrete are a stylemark of traditional English landscapes , while smaller spaces can be enhance with a tabletop spring , birdbath , or water pipe bowl .

let in a water feature of speech such as a pond , streamlet , or fountain . exposure by : Elliot Hook .

4. Layered Mixed Borders

make layered planting with tree diagram for pinnacle , shrub as structural and backdrop factor , and perennial with interesting leaf and flowers that contribute colouration throughout the develop time of year . Intersperse annuals to fill in gaps and for spry colouring through summer and into fall . Use dwarf varieties for small spaces .

apply a mix of trees , shrub , perennial and bulbs to create a layered sundry border . Photo by : Nicola Brown . See more of this garden .

5. Evergreen Shrubs

Add evergreen bush for structure , year - round color , and backcloth interest . These can include broadleaf evergreens such as Turkish boxwood and holly that can be sheared into formal shapes , or conifer such as yew and raetam . For modest place , use dwarf varieties . To reduce maintenance , let in varieties such as ‘ Green Gem ’ boxwood and Sky Box ® Japanese Holly that need little or no pruning .

integrated evergreen plant shrubs for structure and class - round interest group . pic by : Adrian Sherratt . See more of this garden .

6. Focal Points

Include a statue , urn , planter , or reflective stare musket ball as a central characteristic in a garden elbow room , or at the goal of a footpath to absorb the eye through the landscape painting . Classic English statuary is typically made from Edward Durell Stone or concrete and include likenesses of human figurines , cherubs , angels , or animals . Choose traditional features or something else to accommodate your own personal taste . A terrace , fountain , or attractive plant specimen can also be used as a focal decimal point .

Use an oversized urn , planter , or fountain as a focal point in the landscape . Photo by : Rachel Warne . See more of this garden .

7. Seating

Place seat strategically throughout your yard as destinations to relax and revel garden vignettes or larger thought . English garden seating traditionally consists of gravid stone benches , but you may make your own flavour with benches made from other materials or by using other types of seating such as bistro chair .

Place a work bench or other type of seating where you could slack up and enjoy a favorite vantage point in your railway yard . photograph by : Alli Guleria . See more of this garden .

8. Plant Closely

Place imbed close together for the full dense expression of an English - style border . fill in gaps between flora will help reduce weeds and retain moisture by shade the soil .

To get the lush full looking at of an English boundary line , place plants near together . Photo by : Christina Salwitz . See more of this garden .

9. Structures

apply structure to add vertical height , create focal item , or mark the transition between quad . These can admit a pergola for ghost , a sturdy arbor to brook big plants such as climbing roses and wisteria , or treillage for modest vining plant life such as daybreak glory . Add a decorative logic gate for a grand entrance or to separate garden areas .

Add height with an arbor or other structure and train a plant such as a climbing rose for a vertical display of flower . Gardener : Mary DeNoyer . picture by : Janet Loughrey .

10. Roses

rose are an of the essence part of English landscapes . Include fragrant varieties and incorporate different type such as climbers , shrub , and ground cover roses . To reduce maintenance , choose disease - immune types that need slight or no pruning and deadheading such asOso well-fixed ® , Knock Out ® , and Flower Carpet ® blush wine .

Learn more about thedifferent types of roses . Photo by : Paul Maguire / Shutterstock .

11. Green Areas

let in a light-green area such as a lawn to admit space between beds . To reduce the consumption of piddle and fertilizer , interchange traditional turf grass with toughground coversthat are waterwise and low maintenance , such ascreeping thyme , bugleweed ( Ajuga ) , Corsican mint , creeping Jenny , succulents , mosses , or sedge .

Photo by : 1000 Words / Shutterstock .

12. Repetition

Create repetition by repeat the same colour plants throughout the landscape , which will loan coherency . Plant in trend of 3 to 5 of the same variety for more visual impact .

Photo by : Paul Wishart / Shutterstock .

13. Hedging

total formal hedging and topiary using boxwood or other shrubs to enfold borders , define garden rooms and pathways , and as background element .

picture by : Janon Stock / Shutterstock .

14. Four-season appeal

Create four - season entreaty by let in plants with flower that blossom at unlike prison term , dark foliage , evergreen plant , varieties with leaf or berries for declension color , and plants with attractive bark or semen head for wintertime interest .

Photo by : Carmina_Photography / Shutterstock .

15. Include Plants with Fragrance

admit plant with fragrance for a multi - sensory experience . Part of the English garden experience is the amatory scent of flower waft on a gentle snap . Scented plants can admit roses , daffodil , honeysuckle , jasmine , lavender , lilac , lily , peony , phlox , and pinks . invest fragrant works near a seating area where they can be most enjoyed . ( See ourTop 20 Fragrant Flowering Plants )

Photo by : Yolanta / Shutterstock .

16. Use Drought-Tolerant Plants in Drier Regions

With many area becoming dry due to climate change , you may still get the English look by using more drouth - liberal varieties . Instead of mop head hydrangea , plant more drouth - tolerant oak leaf hydrangea . wet - loving key flower ( Lobelia ) can be supersede with salvia . Some industrial plant such as bee balm ( Monarda ) and perennial helianthus ( Helianthus ) are tolerant of wet or dry circumstance .

Gatsby Pink ® oakleaf hydrangea . picture by : Proven Winners .

HOW TO DESIGN AN ENGLISH-STYLE GARDEN

opt and evaluate your site . English - elan border want full to fond sunlight and good drainage . find out an area in your yard that have 6 to 8 60 minutes of direct sun during most of the growing time of year . Amend the soil to produce a rich grow medium .

Get ideas . Peruse on-line imagination such as Pinterest and gardening site for aspiration . jaw local gardens boast English elements to see what plants do comfortably in your area . Make a list of feature you desire to admit .

Make a plan . Draw a rough vignette to see how your yard will depend . For more involved projects , look up a landscape painting professional .

Brick Arch, Herbaceous Border 
Garden Design
Calimesa, CA

Consider scale of measurement . Select textile , plant , and features that are in scale with your dwelling house and one thousand . If you have limited space , you could still include a small urine feature film such as a tabletop jet or birdbath . apply bistro seating instead of a prominent judiciary . deputize tumid plant species with dwarf varieties that wo n’t outgrow the quad .

conceive flair . opt a color scheme , material , plants , and accessories that will complement your house ’s window dressing . Combine English - expressive style elements with other features that suit your personal taste .

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ENGLISH AND A COTTAGE GARDEN?

Though the terms “ English ” and “ cottage ” garden are often used interchangeably , there are discrete differences . component of these two manner are commonly combined .

The other English gardens were created by the English noble form on expansive property . These opulent estate gardens were characterise by formal symmetric design , large expanses of manicure green lawn , fence garden suite , exuberant flower molding , neatly clipped hedge , and beautify with classic sculpture and oversized piss feature . These schematic gardens were consider as a display of wealth and were chiefly ornamental .

Cottage garden were civilise by peasants who exist in modest bungalow on modest rural property . These gardens were more functional and informally design , consisting of veg , yield tree diagram , medicinal herb and bloom , and were often enclosed by a low plain stone wall or picket fence to keep out farm animal . Learn garden aim .

Brick Arch, Herbaceous Border 
Garden Design
Calimesa, CA

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