Our 20+ Favorite Cottage Garden Plants & Flowers

ALLIUM (Allium spp.)

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Zones: 4-10
Habit: Upright habit
Height/Spread: 6 to 48 inches tall, 3 to 10 inches wide
Bloom time: Spring to summer
Exposure: Full sun

Related to edible onions, these ornamental perennials produce globe-shaped flower heads with tiny star-shaped florets in colors of purple, blue, pink, white, or yellow. Use at the front of a cottage-style border to create structure and offer contrast to other shaped flowers. Taller varieties (bulbs) can be used in the mid- or back border. Learn more about growing allium plants.

BUTTERFLY WEED (Asclepias tuberosa)

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Zones: 3-9
Habit: Upright habit
Height/Spread: 12 to 30 inches tall, 12 to 24 inches wide
Bloom time: Summer
Exposure: Full sun

Support monarchs and other butterflies with this bushy herbaceous perennial that produces clusters of tubular star-shaped orange or yellow flowers. Combine in a cottage border alongside ornamental grasses or complementary-hued purple flowers of salvia, asters, and garden phlox. Learn more about growing butterfly weed.

CATMINT (Nepeta spp.)

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Zones: 3-9
Habit: Mounding spreading habit
Height/Spread: 1 to 4 feet tall, 1 to 3 feet wide
Bloom time: Late spring to fall
Exposure: Full to partial sun

This mint relative has aromatic foliage and small purple, lavender, pink, yellow, white or blue flowers that grow up and down the stems. The mounding shrubby habit is useful for edging pathways or massed at the front of a cottage-style garden, and bees love it!. Learn more about growing catmint.

DIANTHUS (Dianthus spp.)

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Zones: 3-9, depending on the variety
Habit: Upright, mounding, or spreading habit
Height/Spread: 4 to 36 inches tall, 4 to 24 inches wide
Bloom time: Spring to early summer, with some varieties that bloom intermittently until fall
Exposure: Full to partial sun

Dianthus has long been a cottage garden favorite, with frilly clove-scented flowers mainly in tones of pink, red, and white. Grow this charming perennial, annual, or biennial as pathway or border edging, in a cutting garden or containers. Learn more about growing dianthus.

LAVENDER (Lavandula spp.)

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Zones: 5-9
Habit: Upright habit
Height/Spread: 1 to 4 feet tall, 1 to 5 feet wide
Bloom time: Late spring to fall
Exposure: Full sun

This popular herb is grown for its scented foliage and spiky flowers that have a wide range of ornamental, culinary, and medicinal uses. Plant this shrubby perennial along a pathway, use as hedging or at the front of a drought-tolerant cottage-style bed. Learn more about growing lavender.

YARROW (Achillea millefolium)

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Zones: 3-9
Habit: Upright spreading habit
Height/Spread: 1 to 3 feet tall, 2 to 3 feet wide
Bloom time: Summer to early fall
Exposure: Full sun

Yarrow is a tough, virtually foolproof perennial that produces aromatic ferny foliage and flat-topped flower clusters in colors of yellow, red, orange, purple, coral, and white. This favorite pollinator plant forms a neat mat suitable for the front of a border alongside other late blooming plants such as asters, ornamental grasses and sedums. Learn more about growing yarrow plants.

BEE BALM (Monarda spp.)

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Zones: 3-9
Habit: Upright spreading habit
Height/Spread: 10 inches to 4 feet tall, 8 inches to 3 feet wide
Bloom time: Late spring to early fall
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade; plants do best in full sun

This mint relative has pungent foliage and long-blooming flowers reminiscent of fireworks. Attractive to butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees, this old-fashioned favorite is a staple of cottage gardens. Use as filler towards the middle of a border. Learn more about growing bee balm plants.

BLACK-EYED SUSAN (Rudbeckia spp.)

Zones: 3-9, depending on variety
Habit: Upright spreading habit
Height/Spread: 1 to 9 feet tall, 1 to 5 feet wide
Bloom time: Summer to fall
Exposure: Full to partial sun

Native to North American prairies and open fields, the daisy-like flowers of black-eyed Susan come in warm tones of gold, bronze, brown, red, or yellow. Naturalize this biennial or short-lived perennial in an informal border or native garden. Learn more about growing black-eyed Susan plants.

CONEFLOWER (Echinacea spp.)

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Zones: 3-9
Habit: Upright spreading habit
Height/Spread: 1 to 5 feet tall, 1 to 2 feet wide
Bloom time: Summer
Exposure: Full sun

An important food source for insect pollinators and songbirds, the cone-shaped flowers occur in colors of pink, white, orange, yellow, green, and sunset hues. Combine in a cottage-style border with other summer-blooming natives such as yarrow, bee balm, milkweed, and gayfeather (Liatris). Learn more about growing coneflower plants.

COSMOS (Cosmos spp.)

Zones: Usually grown as an annual
Habit: Upright open habit
Height/Spread: 3 to 5 feet tall, 2 feet wide
Bloom time: Summer to fall
Exposure: Full sun

Cheerful daisy-like flowers of this quintessential cottage garden favorite occur in colors of pink, white, burgundy, apricot, orange, or yellow. Sow seeds of this quick-growing annual in a kitchen plot or cottage-style bed to fill in gaps and provide late-season color. Learn more about growing cosmos plants.

DAHLIA (Dahlia spp.)

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Zones: 8-11
Habit: Upright bushy habit
Height/Spread: 1 to 5 feet tall, 1 to 2 feet wide
Bloom time: Summer to fall
Exposure: Full sun

With hundreds of varieties to choose from, dahlia flowers occur in a wide range of colors, shapes, and sizes. Use this long-blooming tuberous plant in the front, middle, or back of a cottage-style border for months of late-season color. Learn more about growing dahlias.

GARDEN PHLOX (Phlox paniculata)

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Zones: 4-8
Habit: Upright spreading habit
Height/Spread: 2 to 4 feet tall, 2 to 3 feet wide
Bloom time: Mid-summer to early fall
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade

Cone-shaped clusters of scented starry flowers occur in single or two-toned shades of pink, purple, salmon, lavender, or white. Mass this reliable perennial at the middle of a cottage border alongside other late-season bloomers such as salvia, Russian sage, purple coneflower, and ornamental grasses. Learn more about growing phlox.

SHASTA DAISY (Leucanthemum x superbum)

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Zones: 5-9
Habit: Upright spreading habit
Height/Spread: 6 to 48 inches tall, 12 to 36 inches wide
Bloom time: Early summer to fall
Exposure: Full to partial sun

A classic summertime perennial with cheerful white flowers with a yellow center, Shasta daisy deserves a spot in any cottage border. This easy-care perennial goes well with many other cottage garden plants, including salvia, bee balm, lavender, and coneflower. Mass towards the middle of a border or cutting garden. Learn more about growing Shasta daisies.

SWEET PEA (Lathyrus odoratus)

Zones: Grown as an annual
Habit: Vining tendriled habit
Height/Spread: 4 to 8 feet tall, 2 to 3 feet wide
Bloom time: Late winter to fall, depending on the climate
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade

Scented blooms on this nostalgic favorite come in a wide array of single and bicolors. Allow the tendriled vines to clamor along a rustic picket fence or grow up a trellis near a pathway where the fragrant flowers can be enjoyed close up.

ZINNIA (Zinnia elegans)

Zones: 10-12, grown as an annual in most zones
Habit: Upright branching habit
Height/Spread: 1 to 4 feet tall, 1 to 2 feet wide
Bloom time: Summer to fall
Exposure: Full sun

This cheerful summer annual comes in many different plant sizes and flowers in colorful shades of red, orange, yellow, pink, white, peach, green, and bicolors. Mass medium-sized varieties in the middle (or dwarf varieties in the front) of a cottage-style border or cutting garden for months of continuous color from mid-summer until frost. Learn more about growing zinnias.

CLEMATIS (Clematis spp.)

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Zones: 3-10
Habit: Vining or bushy habit
Height/Spread: 2 to 50 feet tall, 2 to 10 feet wide
Bloom time: Spring to fall, depending on the variety
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade

Blooms on this versatile flowering vine occur in a range of colors and shapes, with some varieties producing attractive seed heads that follow the flowers. Plant in a cottage border to clamor along a picket fence or climb vertically on an arbor or trellis. Learn more about growing clematis.

DELPHINIUM (Delphinium elatum)

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Zones: 3-7
Habit: Upright spiky habit
Height/Spread: 3 to 6 feet tall, 1 to 3 feet wide
Bloom time: Early to mid-summer
Exposure: Full sun

Towering spikes produce showy multi-petaled flowers in cool hues of blue, pink, purple, and white. Grow this cool-season perennial at the back of a cottage border to add dramatic height and background interest. Learn more about growing delphinium.

FOXGLOVE (Digitalis spp.)

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Zones: 3-8
Habit: Upright spiky habit
Height/Spread: 3 to 8 feet tall, 1 to 3 feet wide
Bloom time: Spring to summer
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade

This classic cottage garden staple is grown for the vertical spires of bell-shaped flowers in shades of pink, purple, white, apricot, and yellow. Allow self-sowing biennial types to fill in gaps, while perennial varieties can be reliably grown towards the back or middle of a border. Learn more about growing foxglove.

HOLLYHOCK (Alcea rosea)

Zones: 2-9
Habit: Upright spiky habit
Height/Spread: 5 to 8 feet tall, 1 to 2 feet wide
Bloom time: Summer
Exposure: Full sun

Hollyhock is a classic cottage garden plant, with tall stalks of large open-faced flowers in shades of purple, pink, red, white, peach, or lavender. Add this biennial or short-lived perennial to the back of a border or plant against a tall fence or wall. Learn more about growing hollyhock plants.

ROSE (Rosa spp.)

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Zones: 2-11, depending on the variety
Habit: Upright, bushy, spreading, arching, or climbing habit
Height/Spread: 6 inches to 30 feet tall, 1 to 15 feet wide
Bloom time: May to frost
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade

One of the most beloved and widely used garden plants, romantic roses are a staple of cottage borders and landscapes. Use a larger bush type as a background plant in a cottage border or a climbing type trained on a fence, trellis, or arbor. Roses combine well with clematis and many summer-blooming perennials. Learn more about growing roses.