There’s something so unique about the British countryside, with its lush foliage and the winding paths into nature. The cottage garden look is an enduring popular style that can bring a little slice of peace and comfort to your backyard, and it’s easy to achieve with a just few key planters and design features.

When it comes to creating the cottage look, it pays to go wild. Unkempt, overflowing flowers and bushes are a key part of this aesthetic, which is delightfully low maintenance too. Combine your greenery with mini winding pathways of paving stones or gravel to achieve that cute countryside feeling.

Countryside cottages in England typically have a dainty entranceway marked by rustic gates or fencing. Add a low gateway, stone wall, or rustic wooden fencing to your flower-filled garden to define the space and create some serious curb appeal.

If you don’t have much room for overflowing planter beds, you can create a feature area with stacked plant pots for a similar effect. Stacking up rustic materials like large stones, terracotta or ceramic pots, mosses, and other greenery will create a cottage garden aesthetic in a smaller space. Fill your plant pots with herbs, fruits, and veggies for a real English country look that also brings food to your table.

Get more ideas for small gardens in our handy guide to decorating with pots.

Wildflowers are an essential feature in that unkempt cottage garden look. These low-maintenance flowers add beautiful splashes of color and texture to your garden, not to mention the gorgeous scents! Plant wildflower seed mixes or meadow mixes roughly along your planter beds or any grassy area and you’ll soon have a crop of these beauties. Even better, they’ll also attract plenty of honeybees!

Garden benches and picnic tables are great little decor features that can add to this cottage look. Go for a rustic exposed wooden finish or paint a cute color on your seating areas to match your garden, and you’ll also have a place to enjoy watching the world go by.

Check out our outdoor dining space ideas for dreamy al fresco evenings!

English cottage gardens are great places for biodiversity, with wild unkempt flowers and grasses attracting insects and birds alike. A bird feeder is a great way to encourage this in your own garden, and add the perfect finishing touch to your design.