How to Design an English Garden

An English garden will look lush and colorful

An English garden is simply a garden that is designed to look like it is grown in England. Most people picture the traditional English themed garden as either a somewhat wild, flower-filled cottage garden, or a carefully manicured formal estate garden. You can design an English garden along either of these lines. Here are some tips that should help you create the effects you want to design your own English garden.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. A cozy, informal English garden

   USE DESIGN STYLES THAT LOOK ENGLISH. You can design an informal English garden with planters filled with closely planted shrubs and flowers. Benches are often used in English gardens and are welcome in any design for both practicality and good looks. Informal English gardens usually have curved planter beds, lush green grass and can be made charming with trellises, archways and picket fences.

2. A formal English garden

   TRY A FORMAL DESIGN: The formal English garden is not a low maintenance garden. It often incorporates structures like pathways, gazebos, fencing, stone walls and stone archways. Carefully clipped topiaries can line walkways or dot the landscape while formal knot gardens may create designs out of herbs. Hedges should be carefully trimmed, lawns well maintained and trees and shrubs neatly framed by cleanly-edged planter areas. A stone fountain or sculpture makes a good focal point in a formal English garden.

3. A formal herb garden

   CONSTRUCT A GARDEN WITHIN A GARDEN. Two spin-offs of the English garden concept are the rose garden and the formal herb garden or knot garden.

4. The bellis or English daisy

   MAKE IT LOOK LUSH (even if it isn't). Because the English landscape has historically been one with plenty of rain, the look of an English garden is very green with lots of flowers. Typical plants are the hollyhock, foxglove, hosta, columbine, rose, bellis daisy, viola, pansy, peony, johnny-jump-up, primrose, delphinium, wisteria and more. If carefully planned, you can still create a lush effect in areas that do not get a lot of rainfall by using the right drought-tolerant plants. So if you live where water availability is an issue, you can still design an English garden though it will take more creativity and plant knowledge.

5. A brick wall in an English garden

   USE ENGLISH_STYLED MATERIALS. Materials that will help create the English garden theme are brick, white painted trellises and picket fencing, natural blocks of gray stone, wrought iron and natural wood.

6. This highly formal English garden has a clear focal point.

   DON'T FORGET THE FOCAL POINT. In all good designs, focal points should be the main center of attention. They can be structures, plant groupings, fountains or sculptures, impressive specimen plants or other eye-catching events. Paths can meander or lead straight from one area to the next, depending on design. A good design will flow from one area to the next.

7. Even a small area is best planned on paper first.

   Always start by drawing a plan on paper. Even the most natural-looking cottage garden needs to be carefully plotted out if the finished product is to grow in successfully.

8. English garden flowers

   For more information on how to design an English garden, please check the links in the Additional Resources below.

Resources

• English garden history: About.com
• GardensGo Directory of Gardening materials
• English garden sample