Cottage Gardening on a Budget
- Ashley Qurollo
- May 5
- 4 min read
May 5, 2025
Down the country lane we rode, clip clop, in our horse-drawn carriage until we reached the gravel lane to Mrs. Tinsel’s cottage. A centuries old stone wall flanked either side of the pea-gravel drive, and once past the stately stone sentinels, the loveliest and wildest of front gardens greeted us, planted with complete abandon yet carefully maintained to look as if planted without a care in the world.
If I was to write an English novel set in say the 1800s, I might introduce my readers to the quaintest of cottages and welcome them into a nostalgic world of high tea and lush gardens through a scene like this one above. Alas, that description does not describe my garden, but one can dream!
Today I would like to share some simple ideas for creating a cottage-style garden on a budget and within the sphere of normal everyday life. In my sphere of gardening, I am working within several well-defined boundaries which I must abide by. First, I have limited time as a homeschool mother. Second, I have limited financial resources, and by that I mean that I choose not to spend thousands of dollars on my garden. My kind husband affords me great liberty in sourcing what I would like to have, but I do my best to respect our mutual financial goals. Third, I do not currently have an expansive garden space (in my humble opinion). Yet, despite the limitations, I take enormous delight in growing the most whimsical garden that I possibly can at this stage of life.
Blueberry bushes are practical and beautiful, yielding berries in the spring and gorgeous leaves in the fall.
What is cottage gardening to me?
It’s charming. Its beauty spills out in unexpected and delightful ways, always to the surprise and joy of the gardener and anyone else who takes the time to engage with the garden.
It’s not consumed with perfectionism. I quit fussing about pulling up every weed. Who has time for that?
It’s a journey, not a destination. Instead of trying to “finish," I see what I can add to my garden.
It’s a joy, not a chore. Gardening is my happy place and helps me to relax.
It’s full of herbs, flowers, and shrubs, all mish-mashed together. I quit planning and just starting following the flow of the landscape.
It’s not about big box store flowers but those types of flowers your great aunt or grandma used to talk about. I'm always on the hunt for those carefree, wildflowers that I read about in books...
Tips for Creating a Cottage-Style Garden
1. Grow herbs for their practical use and beauty. Did you know that so many herbs actually grow flowers such as Chamomile, Cilantro, Dill, Pineapple Sage, and Sage? My friend and neighbor, Rachel, and I have a running joke. I plant things because they are beautiful. She plants things for their medicinal qualities. But we both love beautiful herbs! Here are some herbs that I’m currently growing.
Cilantro, sage, and dill
Sage--I had no idea that sage grows lovely purple blooms in the spring! What a delightful surprise this was for me this year.
Chamomile
Cilantro
Dill
Basil
Pineapple Sage--this plant is so easy to grow and propagate. Simply cut off a piece, let it root in water, and then plant it in the ground!
Pineapple sage produces stunning red blooms in the fall.
Chamomile, mint, thyme
2. Plant perennial flowers or flowers that easily re-seed themselves. Here are some flowers that I planted or already have growing this year.
Zinnias--these are my all time favorite
Blue Sage
Verbena
Forget-Me-Knot
Queen Anne’s Lace—I don’t think you can get much more cottage garden style than planting this lacy flower.
Alyssum--this delicate flower will smile at you with tiny white blossoms for months, even into fall
Gypsophila
Yarrow
Yarrow and White Verbena
3. Create vignettes with containers (or other objects such as rocks, logs, garden art, etc.) and plants that will eventually grow together in natural harmony. Create friendships among your plants and containers for a timeless and "been there forever" look.
A purple clematis clings to an old shutter painted a gray-green hue.
Oregano creeps in between a tight grouping of various planters.
4. Plant a “Dried Flower” Garden. I’m hoping for some beautiful blooms that I can dry and add beauty to my home during the fall and winter months. The seeds have not poked their little heads up yet, but here’s what I planted so far:
Yarrow
Strawflowers
5. Start a compost pile. Just start a pile. I quit fussing about having all the right ratios of materials. I started throwing everything (organic matter) into a pile out by our barn, and within several months, I had huge, fat earthworms in almost every shovelful of earth. And for horrible SC soil, that’s saying something! As I repot containers this spring, I add several shovelfuls of compost to re-enrich the potting soil. Good soil nutrition is key to happy flowers.
A new coat of black chalk paint freshens old pots.
Friends, I hope you are inspired to grow something in your space this season. You may not be the lady of an English manor with a full-time gardener on staff, but you can still beckon beauty into your sphere of life by nurturing a few seeds. I hope this post gives you a few ideas, and maybe you can even try a new-to-you plant this season! Happy gardening.
-Ashley
Personal Disclosure
As the author of Ashley Qurollo Blog, all opinions are my own. Any possible applications are universal in nature, not directed at any one individual or people group. My sincere desire is to help others by sharing what I am learning. Nothing stated on this blog is ever intended to hurt others. Ashley Qurollo, owner of Ashley Qurollo Blog and Website, is not held liable in any way for any application of the ideas and thoughts stated here.
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