The Cottage Garden

Relax and unwind in the garden at Gardeners Cottage in Blakeney

Gardeners Cottage in Blakeney is unique in that it is one of only cottages to rent in Blakeney with a completely private and enclosed large cottage garden. The sunny cottage garden offers guests, their families and their pets the perfect place to relax and unwind.  

The cottage garden in summer

Key features of the cottage garden 

• Private and enclosed south facing sunny cottage garden
• Kitchen opens onto main garden & onto a seperate courtyard garden
• Plenty of garden furniture including sun loungers, seating & tables and umbrella (summer)
• Barbecue
• Peaceful and sheltered part walled garden.
• Separate small courtyard garden with seating for four. Kitchen and one of downstairs bedroom opens onto courtyard garden and this garden is also gated.
• Both gardens stocked amply with lots of cottage garden flowers including lots of climbing roses, hollyhocks and fig trees.
• Off road enclosed parking for up to 5 cars, and a public car park within a couple of minutes walk, so that you and your guests won't have to worry about where to park.
• Gated, dog proof and fenced and walled garden and parking means your dogs are safely enclosed
• Wildlife friendly garden-we are very keen gardeners and we love to see wildlife in the garden so we look after the cottage garden in as environmentally friendly way as possible, and plant and manage the garden with nature and our planet in mind

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What flowers grow in the cottage garden 

Here are some classic options that thrive in our English cottage gardens inn Norfolk and may also do well in yours:

1. Roses: We have lots of old fashioned roses or old-fashioned rambling rose varieties like Madame Alfred Carriere and Rambling Rector and several David Austin roses which are perfect for adding romance and fragrance to your garden.
2. Lavender and catmint: Lavender not only provides beautiful purple blooms but also fills the air with a lovely scent. It's well-suited to the English climate and adds a touch of rustic charm. Catmint is another very drought resistant cottage garden plant and very easy to grow and propagate.
3. Climbing Plants: Consider growing climbing roses, clematis, or honeysuckle as we have done to add vertical interest and scent to walls, fences, or trellises. 
4. Herbs: Herbs like thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano and mint not only add culinary value but also bring texture and fragrance to the garden.
5. Foxgloves: These tall, spiky flowers with bell-shaped blooms add a dramatic flair to cottage gardens and attract bees and butterflies. These ara classic cottage garden favourite but its important to nbe aware they are very toxic if ingested by humans or pets, and for that resson we do have them in the cottage garden at our Blakeney cottage.
6. Delphiniums: With their tall spires of blue, purple, pink, or white flowers, delphiniums add a splash of colour and vertical interest to the garden.
7. Cottage perennials: Plants like hardy geraniums, hollyhocks, lupins, and campanulas, oxe eye daisies and Astrantia are classic choices for cottage gardens, offering a profusion of blooms in various colours.
8. Cottage Annuals: You could also include annual flowers like aquilegia, sweet peas, cosmos, nasturtiums, and sunflowers to provide continuous colour throughout the growing season.
9. Dahlias: These colorful, bold flowers come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, making them versatile additions to cottage gardens.
10. Poppies: Both traditional red poppies and varieties like Peony poppies, Icelandic poppies and Shirley poppies add a whimsical touch to cottage gardens with their their delicate blooms.
11. Spring bulbs: either naturalised or in the borders are a very welcome sight every spring. We have snowdrops and a variety of daffodils and narcissi inlcluding some sceneted ones to give us a succession of flowers throughout spring.
12. Native wildflowers: the original English cottage gardens consisted mainly of wildflowers, so we have encouraged them into the garden and let them seed about. Our favourites are primroses, purple honesty, oxe eye daisies, red and white valerian and of course the wonderful Hollyhocks you see everywhere in Blakeney. 
13. Native Cyclamen-both winter and autumn varieties are very easy and rewarding to grow either in borders or naturalised in grass or gravel.
14. Non hardy geraniums and pelagoniums in terracotta pots look wonderful in summer either on their own or mixed with other beddings plants.

If you would like to order some of our Cottage garden seed mix for your garden they are available here.