Create Your Own Australian Cottage Garden: A Complete Guide

An Australian cottage garden blends timeless charm with the practicality of plants that thrive in our unique climate. Whether you’re inspired by the English cottage garden style or prefer an Australian native cottage garden, this guide will help you plan, plant, and maintain your dream garden.

What is an Australian Cottage Garden?

An Australian cottage garden is a lush, informal garden style that combines the charm of traditional English cottage gardens with the resilience and beauty of plants suited to Australia's climate. It offers a balance between structure and whimsy, characterised by densely planted flowers, shrubs, and herbs that flow seamlessly together to create a natural yet intentional look.

This garden style embraces variety, with vibrant flowers, fragrant herbs, and edible plants coexisting harmoniously. In an Australian context, incorporating native plants adds a sustainable twist, ensuring your garden thrives in local conditions while supporting biodiversity.

Key Features of an Australian Cottage Garden

1. Diverse Planting. A mix of textures, colours, and heights creates a layered effect, blending tall flowers, low-growing ground covers, and everything in between. Popular plants include traditional roses, lavender, and foxgloves, as well as native varieties like kangaroo paw and grevilleas.
2. Informal Layout. Unlike formal gardens, cottage gardens have an organic feel. Meandering pathways, irregular planting patterns, and a relaxed aesthetic are key elements.
3. Seasonal Interest. Australian cottage gardens are designed to offer beauty year-round. Choose plants that bloom in different seasons to ensure ongoing visual appeal.
4. Functional Beauty. Many cottage gardens incorporate edible plants like herbs (thyme, rosemary) and vegetables, blending utility with aesthetics.
5. Hardy and Adaptable Plants. Native plants, such as bottlebrush and waratah, thrive in Australian climates and add a uniquely local flavour to the traditional cottage garden style.
6. Decorative Elements. Bird baths, vintage garden tools, trellises, and stepping stones enhance the charm of a cottage garden while creating focal points.

 Why Choose an Australian Cottage Garden?

• Sustainability: Using native plants reduces water usage and maintenance needs.
• Aesthetic Appeal: The timeless beauty of a cottage garden enhances your home’s curb appeal.
• Low Maintenance: By choosing plants adapted to the local climate, you’ll spend less time on upkeep.
• Wildlife-Friendly: Dense planting and native species attract pollinators like bees, butterflies, and birds.

Whether you’re drawn to the romantic allure of English cottage garden flowers or the practical beauty of an Australian native cottage garden, this versatile style allows you to create a personalised, vibrant space that reflects your taste and celebrates your surroundings.

Best Cottage Garden Plants for Australia

The success of a cottage garden depends largely on choosing the right plants. In Australia, combining traditional cottage garden favourites with hardy natives creates a lush and thriving garden that suits the local climate. Here’s a curated list of the best plants for an Australian cottage garden, including flowers, shrubs, herbs, and ground covers.

1. Flowers

Flowers are the heart of a cottage garden, adding colour, fragrance, and charm. Choose a mix of traditional and native varieties for year-round appeal.

Traditional Cottage Garden Flowers:

• Roses: A quintessential cottage garden favourite, roses can be grown as climbers, bushes, or ground covers.
• Lavender: This fragrant and hardy plant is perfect for borders or pathways.
• Foxgloves: Tall and striking, foxgloves add vertical interest and a touch of whimsy.
• Sweet Peas: Ideal for climbing trellises, sweet peas bring fragrance and soft pastel hues.
• Daisies: Hardy and cheerful, daisies are a low-maintenance option.

Australian Native Cottage Garden Flowers:

• Kangaroo Paw: This iconic native plant has unique, brightly coloured flowers that attract birds.
• Waratah: A bold choice, the waratah is a show-stopper with its large, vibrant blooms.
• Grevilleas: These versatile plants come in various sizes and colours, offering nectar-rich flowers that attract pollinators.
• Bottlebrush: With its distinctive red blooms, the bottlebrush adds structure and a native twist to the garden.
• Correa: A small native shrub with bell-shaped flowers perfect for borders or underplanting.

2. Shrubs

Shrubs provide structure and year-round greenery. Include a mix of flowering and evergreen varieties to create a balanced garden.

• Camellias: These elegant shrubs offer lush foliage and stunning flowers.
• Hydrangeas: Known for their large, colourful blooms, hydrangeas are ideal for shaded areas.
• Tea Trees (Leptospermum): Native shrubs with delicate foliage and small flowers that are hardy and attractive.
• Dianellas: Native grasses with blue or purple flowers that add texture and colour.

3. Herbs and Edibles

Cottage gardens often integrate edible plants, combining beauty with function. Herbs, in particular, bring fragrance, texture, and utility.

• Thyme and Rosemary: These hardy, fragrant herbs are perfect for sunny borders.
• Mint: Ideal for pots or contained areas to prevent spreading.
• Parsley and Basil: Great for both visual appeal and kitchen use.
• Dwarf Citrus Trees: Compact varieties like lemon or lime trees thrive in small spaces or containers.
• Vegetables: Add a practical edge with leafy greens or tomatoes tucked into flower beds.

4. Ground Covers

Ground covers help fill gaps, suppress weeds, and create a lush, full look.

• Creeping Thyme: A fragrant and hardy ground cover that works well in sunny areas.
• Native Violet (Viola hederacea): A delicate native ground cover with pretty purple flowers.
• Alyssum: A traditional cottage garden favourite with small, fragrant flowers.
• Trailing Grevilleas: Low-growing varieties of grevilleas are excellent for ground cover and erosion control.

5. Climbing Plants

Climbers add height and vertical interest, perfect for arbors, fences, and trellises.

• Clematis: Known for its large, colourful flowers.
• Star Jasmine: A fragrant, fast-growing climber ideal for covering walls or fences.
• Wisteria: For a classic, romantic look, wisteria’s cascading flowers are unmatched.
• Native Wonga Wonga Vine (Pandorea pandorana): A native climber with bell-shaped flowers.

For more inspiration, check out our ultimate guide to growing Australian native plants.

For more plant options, browse our range of plants, seedlings, and seeds. With the right mix of plants, your cottage garden will be a vibrant, thriving space that combines beauty and sustainability.

Creating Your Cottage Garden

Step 1: Select Your Theme

When designing your cottage garden, the theme sets the tone and character of your outdoor space. Your garden can be as simple or elaborate as you like, with layouts ranging from formal and geometric to informal and rambling. The key is to prioritise plants over lawn—your garden may even be entirely lawn-free! Below are some inspiring themes to help you craft the perfect cottage garden.

1. Beckoning Theme: Invite Curiosity

Create a garden that entices visitors to explore further by offering glimpses of what lies ahead without revealing everything at once.

• Design Elements: Use plant heights, fences, trellises, or arches to partially obscure the view, sparking curiosity. For example, tall shrubs or climbing plants can create natural partitions.
• Objective: Make visitors feel drawn in, eager to walk through a gate, down a winding path, or behind a hedge to discover hidden treasures.
• Tip: Avoid straight paths or fully open spaces to maintain a sense of mystery.

2. Romantic Theme: Embrace Intimacy

A romantic garden focuses on creating cosy, human-centered spaces and incorporating charming, nostalgic elements.

• Design Elements: Add an arbour or pergola at the entrance, especially one draped with climbing roses or wisteria. Include an intimate seating area, like a small bench or café-style table for two, surrounded by aromatic plants like lavender or herbs.
• Decorative Touches: Rustic items such as old farm tools, cartwheels, wine barrels, or millstones enhance the nostalgic atmosphere.
• Objective: Craft a tranquil and inviting space for relaxation or quiet conversation.

3. Fascinating Theme: Spark Wonder

For those with larger gardens, create a space filled with intrigue and discovery to keep visitors enchanted.

• Design Elements: Include a network of winding pathways and plant unexpected or unusual species, such as gnarly trees or striking cacti.
• Decorative Touches: Add captivating objects like sculptures, large boulders, mosaic pathways, or even whimsical installations like a “sword in the stone.”
• Objective: Encourage exploration and delight with every turn, inspiring curiosity and conversation.

4. Sensory Theme: Engage All the Senses

Transform your garden into a sensory wonderland by appealing to sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. A garden alive with activity—birds, butterflies, frogs, and more—amplifies the experience.

• Sound: Include features like rustling grasses, wind chimes, or trickling water features. Ensure subtlety; overly loud sounds can overwhelm the space.
• Taste: Line pathways with edible plants like strawberries, cherry tomatoes, or snow peas to create a delightful "pick-and-eat" experience.
• Touch: Incorporate tactile plants like “Lamb’s Ears” and interactive features like a vintage water pump or sculpture.
• Sight: Use layered plant groupings for beauty and abundance without clutter. Add thoughtful lighting for a magical nighttime transformation.
• Smell: Plant fragrant flowers and herbs, such as lavender, jasmine, and scented geraniums. Place these along pathways so they release their scent when brushed against.

Each theme offers a unique way to bring personality and function to your cottage garden. Feel free to mix and match elements to create a space that’s both visually stunning and deeply personal. Your theme will be the guiding vision as you move forward with your planting and design.

Step 2: Define Your Paths

Paths in a cottage garden do more than provide access—they shape and define the overall layout. Thoughtfully designed paths guide the flow of movement, connect focal points, and enhance the garden's visual appeal. Additionally, they can lead to a small clearing—a practical space for gardening tasks and a tranquil spot to sit and enjoy the garden and its wildlife.

Key Considerations for Paths:

• Width: Paths should ideally be at least 1.2 metres wide. This allows plants to spill onto the pathways without restricting movement and ensures enough room for a wheelbarrow or walking alongside a friend.
• Materials: Choose materials that complement the traditional, rustic aesthetic of a cottage garden. Options include:

• Recycled bricks or pavers for a classic look.
• Gravel or stone for a natural feel.
• Timber sleepers for a rustic, earthy charm.

How to Plan and Create Your Paths:

1.  Design Your Layout:
   Start by deciding on your garden’s theme and layout.
   Use tools like tape measures, line-marking paint, or handfuls of sand to outline beds and paths.
   For straight lines, use string to guide your layout. For curves, a garden hose works beautifully.
2. Mark the Pathways:
   Drive stakes into the ground to mark corners or the edges of paths.
   Adjust the design as needed to ensure it flows naturally and serves practical purposes.
3. Prepare the Area:
   Remove unwanted turf and plants from the pathway areas.
   Begin shaping garden beds and clearing spaces for paths.
4. Install the Path Materials:
   Refer to our guides for step-by-step instructions, such as:
   Lay your own paving for structured paths.
   How to build a timber fence for bordering paths.
   Build Your Own Retaining Wall for elevating nearby garden beds.

Thoughtfully designed paths create the backbone of your cottage garden, blending practicality with charm. They not only provide easy access but also enhance the garden’s beauty and sense of discovery.

Step 3: Select Your Plants

Choosing and combining plants is at the heart of creating a vibrant and cohesive cottage garden. Thoughtful selection ensures your garden is not only visually stunning but also functional and easy to maintain. Here’s how to approach plant selection and combination to achieve a balanced and beautiful design.

1. Consider Function and Placement: Start by thinking about the purpose of your plants and where they will thrive within your garden’s layout:
   Ground Covers: Select low-growing plants to fill spaces between larger plants and soften the edges of pathways.
   Borders and Edges: Use structured plants to define pathways and garden beds, creating a polished look.
   Focal Points: Choose bold, standout plants or clusters to draw attention to specific areas like entrances or seating spots.
   Vertical Space: Incorporate climbing plants or taller species to add height, create privacy, or provide shade.
2. Combine for Contrast and Harmony: A successful cottage garden relies on a mix of textures, colours, and heights to achieve a natural yet intentional look:
   Textures: Blend fine, delicate foliage with bold, broad leaves for visual interest.
   Colours: Use a harmonious palette that complements your garden theme. Soft pastels create a traditional feel, while bold hues add energy and modernity.
   Heights: Arrange plants in layers, with taller varieties at the back, medium plants in the middle, and shorter ones at the front. This creates depth and ensures all plants are visible.
3. Plan for Seasonal Interest: Ensure your garden remains lively and colourful throughout the year by including plants that bloom or provide interest in different seasons:
   Seasonal Rotation: Combine plants that peak at various times of the year to keep your garden vibrant across all seasons.
   Evergreens and Perennials: Use these as the foundation to provide structure and maintain visual appeal year-round.
4. Integrate Practical Plants: Cottage gardens are as functional as they are beautiful. Include plants that serve multiple purposes:
   Edibles: Incorporate food-producing plants or herbs for a functional and decorative touch.
   Pollinator-Friendly Plants: Choose varieties that attract bees, butterflies, and birds to support biodiversity and enhance your garden’s vitality.
5. Design for Adaptability: Cottage gardens are dynamic, growing and evolving over time. When selecting plants, consider:
   Maintenance Levels: Choose plants that match your desired level of care, whether you prefer low-maintenance options or enjoy regular gardening.
   Adaptability to Climate: Ensure plants are suited to your local climate and soil conditions for long-term success.

By focusing on function, visual harmony, and practicality, your plant selection will create a garden that is not only a joy to look at but also a delight to interact with. Thoughtful combinations ensure your cottage garden remains enchanting, functional, and resilient.

Step 4: Maintain and Evolve Your Garden

Maintaining a cottage garden is an ongoing process that requires attention and adaptability. With a little effort and smart planning, you can keep your garden looking beautiful and healthy while conserving resources. Here’s how to manage and evolve your cottage garden effectively.

1. Embrace Continuous Maintenance
   Keep a pair of secateurs handy during your strolls to quickly prune, deadhead, or tidy up plants as needed.
   Monitor plant health. If a plant isn’t thriving in its current spot, don’t hesitate to dig it up and relocate it to a more suitable location.
   Use plant labels to guide decisions on placement and transplanting. They provide valuable information about light, soil, and water needs.
2. Maximise Ground Coverage: Aim to plant densely, leaving little to no exposed soil. This aligns with the crowded, lush style of a cottage garden and offers practical benefits:
   Weed Suppression: Dense planting reduces the space available for weeds to grow.
   Integrated Design: Any stray weeds that do emerge are likely to blend into the garden rather than stand out.
3. Practice Smart Water Management
   Group Plants by Water Needs: Organise plants with similar water requirements together. This avoids overwatering plants that need less while ensuring those that require more get adequate moisture.
   Daily watering plants can be grouped together.
   Those needing water twice a week can be in another section, and so on.
   Efficient Irrigation: Water deeply and less frequently to encourage deep root growth and reduce problems like rot or mildew. This also helps your garden become more resilient during periods when it’s unattended.
   Water Tanks: Consider adding a water tank to enhance both the garden’s appeal and its sustainability. A vintage tank or a modern one with a "rustic" finish can become a charming feature.
4. Mulch for Multiple Benefits: Apply a generous layer of mulch around your plants to:
   Retain soil moisture.
   Suppress weeds.
   Improve soil health as it breaks down.
   Create a habitat for beneficial wildlife, such as insects and small creatures.
5. Focus on Foliage: While flowers are a hallmark of cottage gardens, don’t overlook the beauty of foliage. Plants with interesting leaves add texture, colour, and structure to your garden, extending its visual appeal beyond blooming seasons.
6. Allow Your Garden to Evolve
   Cottage gardens are dynamic and ever-changing. Embrace the natural shifts in appearance as plants grow, bloom, and fade. Be open to experimenting with new plants or rearranging existing ones.
   Watch for opportunities to improve the garden’s layout, adding new features or adjusting pathways to accommodate growth.

By maintaining regular care, using sustainable practices, and allowing your garden to evolve, you’ll cultivate a thriving, adaptable space that remains beautiful and enjoyable year after year.

Get Started Today

Whether you’re an experienced gardener or just starting, creating an Australian cottage garden is a rewarding project. With our wide range of plants, décor, and tools, Mitre 10 has everything you need to bring your vision to life. Start planning today, and transform your outdoor space into a lush, welcoming retreat.

Step 1: Design themes

Several themes can be expressed in your cottage garden. You can keep it as simple or elaborate as you like! Cottage garden layout can be formal, geometric or rambling. The important key aspect that it’s more garden than lawn – in fact there may be no lawn at all!

BECKONING

Have you ever seen a garden that you absolutely ached to walk into? Why was that? You can create this response with your garden by not giving the whole game away from the outset. Your garden’s viewers and visitors are presented with a glimpse of what awaits when they walk through the gate or down the path, but – most importantly – they cannot see much without actually doing so. To do this well you will need to think carefully about plant heights, fencing, trellises and other structures.

ROMANTIC

This theme is concerned more with human spaces and objects than plants. An arbour at the front gate, or as a garden entrance can create a romantic feel – especially if it is large and includes seating. An intimate sitting area with a cosy two-seat bench or two-seat café table is a must. The immediate area can be planted with aromatic plants and herbs. A collection of rustic objects can add to the romance. Consider rusty old farm implements, cartwheels, millstones, wine barrels, or any interesting object from a bygone era.

FASCINATING

If you have plenty of room, a maze of pathways can be a fascinatingpuzzle for those that wander in. Unusual objects can have them wondering and enquiring. Bizarre or unexpected plants can be captivating – a gnarly tree or large cactus for example. Fascinating objects can include boulders, sculpture, wells, mosaic paving, poems carved in pavement or walls, perhaps even a sword in a stone.

SENSORY

With a little thought you can create a real feast for the senses. All the senses can be engaged if your garden is full of life – butterflies, fish, frogs, lizards, birds, insects and spiders amplify the feeling of abundance and healthy life.

Sound. Go for subtle sounds that may not even be consciously noticed at first. Wind can create interesting sounds as it passes through some plants - she oaks make an eerie noise, while tall grasses and bamboo rustle. Chimes can be pleasant, but can also be annoying if too loud or consistent. Gravel can make a pleasant sound underfoot, and water can soothe. Take care with water features, as falling water can be quite loud, especially at night. Trickling or flowing water can work well.

Taste. Put the tasty stuff tantalisingly within reach of your garden’s visitors, and encourage them to pick and eat at will. Line the paths with strawberries, berry tomatoes, radish, snow peas, mint, and any other pick-and-chew plant that takes your fancy. Children find this especially wondrous.

Touch. If you have a small patch of lawn, make it soft and lush. Include a few plants within easy reach that just scream out to be touched. The furry soft leaves of “Lambs ears” are impossible to resist. An old manual water pump is irresistible. Visitors seem compelled to grab the handle to see if it works. Sculpture can have a similar effect, especially those with apparently working parts.

Sight. Well, this is the whole point of a cottage garden, so don’t neglect it in the quest for other senses. The concept of abundance can, if you’re not careful, be overridden by clutter and mess. By grouping plants you can generally create beauty and abundance together. At night you can use lighting to great advantage to create an entirely different visual feast of shape and colour.

Scent. Another obvious attribute of a cottage garden, but do consider seasonality when choosing scent plants. Apart from the obvious flowering scented plants, there are those with scented foliage such as geraniums and herbs, and if they are encouraged to spill out onto the pathways they’ll release their scent for passers-by. This is another fascination for children that can keep them busy for some time.

Step 2: Paths

Paths are used to provide access to parts of the cottage garden, but perhaps more importantly to provide shape and definition. Somewhere in the garden a small clearing is necessary as a workspace for gardening activities as well as a spot to sit and enjoy the garden and its wildlife visitors while you contemplate the next thing to do. Paths should be quite wide, 1.2 metres if possible, so that plants can spill over onto them and you’ll still have room to comfortably move around with a friend or a barrow. Because these gardens have a traditional, even rustic, look and feel you might like to consider recycled materials such as bricks, pavers, stone, gravel or timber sleepers. Once you’ve decided on the garden layout theme, set out the beds and paths using tape measures and line-marking paint (or handfuls of sand), drive in pegs to mark corners and shapes, and use string-lines to give straight lines or a garden hose to create curves. When you’re happy with the layout dig out unwanted turf and plants and begin creating the garden beds and pathways. Check out other MitrePlans – “Lay your own paving”, “Build a pine pole fence” and “Retaining walls”.

Step 3: Plant choices

Herbs of all varieties can have a place in your cottage garden: thyme as a fragrant ground cover; Rosemary as a low hedge or garden edge; chives as a border; chilli as a feature and mint in pots (to prevent them from invading everything). They can be grown amidst other plants or in their own dedicated garden bed. Climbers can be useful cottage garden inhabitants: wisteria over an arbour; Bougainvillea over an old shed; roses on a trellis; grapes on a pergola; or even choko or passionfruit on an old back fence. They can hide unpleasant views, provide height without costing much ground space, and even offer a cooling shade canopy. Many also provide a spectacular display of blooms or tasty food.

Step 4: Flower choices

Some native plants will work well in a cottage garden, and may provide splashes of colour when traditional cottage plants are dormant. Try to spread flowering times throughout the entire year, and spread them across the garden so you won’t have an entire section looking like a forest of dead sticks. Stalwarts include violas, poppies, lilac, geranium, lavender, roses, salvias, achilleas, and weigela.

Step 5: Maintain and evolve

This is a constant, so keep a pair of secateurs on-hand whenever you stroll through for a quick tidy-up. A plant that isn’t doing well may do better in a different location, so simply dig it up and try it somewhere else. Plant labels are important sources of information for location and transplanting. Plant so there’s virtually no open soil. This is in accord with the crowded style of the cottage garden, but has a practical side – it helps control weeds. Any weeds that do find a spot for themselves will probably blend into the garden rather than be obvious. Water conservation is important wherever you live, and although cottage gardens may appear to be waterhungry, they needn’t be. Try siting plants with others of similar water usage – that is, if you avoid mixing waterhungry plants with those needing less, you won’t waste water on those that don’t need as much. Plant those that need daily water together, those that need water twice weekly together and so on. A water tank will add to the garden’s appeal, so keep your eyes peeled for a slightly rusty old tank, or “rusticate” a brand new one with a careful paint-job. Irrigate with infrequent soakings rather than frequent light waterings. This promotes deep root growth, reduces rot and mildew problems, and creates a garden that can survive on its own when you take a break. Mulch the soil well to reduce evaporation, reduce weed infestation, and provide lots of living space for wildlife. Try using plants for their foliage effects rather than their flowers. In this