There’s something magical about driving down a country lane and looking at all the flowers tucked in front of homes and cottages. While the flowers themselves are undeniably beautiful, we also like to think about the care that went into selecting, planting, and tending each one of these cottage garden plants!
If you want to create your own cottage garden but aren’t sure where to start, we’re here to help. We’ve put together a list of 20 of the best flowers for creating that cottage core vibe you’re after.
Daylily (Hemerocallis)
Daylilies are supremely hardy plants that can grow in a variety of light and soil conditions. Although each flower blooms for just one day, daylily plants continuously send out new blooms. Despite their name and trumpet-shaped flowers, they’re not true lilies.
Plant size: 2-4 feet
Color: orange, yellow, pink, white, and/or red
Hardiness zone: 3-9
Coral Bells (Heuchera spp.)
This classic cottage flower produces colorful foliage and tall flower stalks covered with small, bell-shaped flowers. The plants are quite hardy and can thrive in both sun and shade. However, they’ll produce more flowers in full sun.
Plant size: 1-3 feet
Color: coral, red, white, or pink
Hardiness zone: 4-9
Common Daisy (Bellis perennis)
The iconic white and yellow version of daisies is a must-have if you’re looking for cottage core flowers. You can also choose modern varieties with ruffled petals or multi-colored blooms.
Plant size: 6-18 inches
Color: white, yellow, pink, red, orange
Hardiness zone: 4-9
Larkspur (Consolida ajacis)
Thanks to its tall, upright flower stalks, larkspur is a great choice for planting along fences or sticking in the back of mixed plantings. These plants are annuals, but since they readily self-seed, you can plant them once and enjoy them for years.
Plant size: 2-4 feet
Color: white, pink, purple, or blue
Hardiness zone: 2-11
Penstemon (Penstemon spp.)
Also known as beardtongues, penstemon plants are beloved for their hardy native and tall stalks covered with tubular flowers. You can find hundreds of species and cultivars that vary in height, flower color, and leaf color. All types of penstemon grow best in full sun.
Plant size: 1-5 feet
Color: pink, purple, red, white, blue
Hardiness zone: 3-9
Hellebore (Helleborus orientalis)
A great cottage flower for shady areas, hellebores are some of the first flowers to bloom each year. Their dainty, rose-like flowers appear around Lent, giving them the common name Lenten rose. After the flowers are done blooming, their large leaves make an attractive ground cover.
Plant size: 1-2 feet
Color: pink, white, or purple
Hardiness zone: 3-9
Hollyhock (Alcea rosea)
A popular choice for growing along fences and sides of barns, hollyhocks are some of the best tall cottage garden flowers. Hollyhocks are biennial, meaning they produce vegetative growth in their first year, flower in their second year, and then die. Therefore, you should plant them each year if you want to enjoy their blooms each summer.
Plant size: 3-7 feet
Color: pink, white, red, purple, blue, orange, or yellow
Hardiness zone: 2-10
Rose (Rosa spp.)
Whether you want a petite bush for the containers beside your porch or a climbing rose to cover an arbor or fence, you can find a rose that does the job. All roses make excellent cottage garden flowers, but wild roses and old garden roses are especially suitable options.
Plant size: 1-15 feet
Color: white, red, pink, yellow, orange, purple
Hardiness zone: 4-9
Peony (Paeonia spp.)
Known for their large flowers with layers and layers of ruffled blooms, peonies are one of the key cottage flowers. Healthy plants can grow multiple feet tall and wide, making them a good choice for a focal plant in the garden.
Plant size: 2-4 feet
Color: pink, red, white, or orange
Hardiness zone: 3-8
Hydrangea (Hydrangea spp.)
You can find many different types of hydrangeas, including the aptly named oakleaf hydrangea and the large bigleaf hydrangea. Some hydrangeas produce flowers that change in color depending on the soil acidity; acidic soil leads to blue flowers while alkaline soil causes pink flowers.
Plant size: 3-15
Color: white, pink, purple, or blue
Hardiness zone: 3-9
Phlox (Phlox spp.)
With more than 50 different phlox species available, you can find phlox with creeping, trailing, and upright forms. That means you can tuck moss phlox into pockets on the top of rock walls, plant woodland phlox in shady areas, and mix tall phlox with other sun-loving flowers.
Plant size: 6-60 inches
Color: pink, purple, white, or red
Hardiness zone: 3-9
Bellflower (Campanula spp.)
A group of flowers with bell-shaped blooms, bellflowers brighten up the garden in the spring and early summer. Some species have large blooms that resemble small dinner bells while others have smaller flowers along tall stems.
Plant size: 6-30 inches
Color: pink, purple, blue or white
Hardiness zone: 3-8
Columbine (Aquilegia spp.)
A perfect perennial flower for cottage gardens and native plant gardens, columbine is beloved by gardeners, hummingbirds, and bees alike. The trumpet-shaped flowers feature large petals and often include multiple colors.
Plant size: 1-3 feet
Color: pink, red, yellow, white, blue, and/or purple
Hardiness zone: 3-9
Iris (Iris spp.)
Iris plants feature slender, elongated leaves that resemble slim swords. When spring arrives, the plants send up tall flower stalks topped with unique flowers. There are many different iris species that range from a foot to multiple feet tall.
Plant size: 1-4 feet
Color: white, purple, blue, yellow,
Hardiness zone: 3-9
Lavender (Lavandula)
If you have well-draining soil and lots of sun, lavender is an excellent cottage flower. The plants produce amazingly fragrant foliage and flowers, and their perennial nature means the plants come back year after year.
Plant size: 2-3 feet
Color: purple
Hardiness zone: 5-9
Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis spp.)
If you want to create a sea of dainty blue flowers, forget-me-nots are the perfect cottage flowers. Although these plants are annuals, they readily self-seed and come back year after year. Blue forget-me-nots are by far the most common color, but you can also find white, pink, and lavender varieties.
Plant size: 1-2 feet
Color: blue, white, pink, or purple
Hardiness zone: 3-9
Yarrow (Achillea spp.)
A classic native flower that attracts all kinds of pollinators, yarrow is at home in any cottage and countryside garden. The large umbels of tiny flowers continue to bloom from spring through fall, and the hardy plants can tolerate drought and poor soil.
Plant size: 2-3 feet
Color: white, pink, red, orange, yellow, or purple
Hardiness zone: 3-9
Dianthus (Dianthus spp.)
Lovingly known as “pinks,” members of the Dianthus genus include carnations, Sweet William, and cheddar pinks. All of these plants feature flowers with thin, delicate petals arranged in a round shape.
Plant size: 1-2 feet
Color: white, pink, or red
Hardiness zone: 3-9
Bee Balm (Monarda spp.)
Bee balm’s nectar and pollen-rich blooms make it one of the best cottage flowers for attracting pollinators. Bees, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds flock to the round flowers to feed.
Plant size: 2-4 feet
Color: pink, purple, or red
Hardiness zone: 3-9
Delphinium (Delphinium spp.)
This group of cottage flowers has impressively tall stalks covered with handfuls of beautiful flowers. Not only do these plants look gorgeous when growing against fences or walls, but they also hold up well as a cut flower.
Plant size: 2-8 feet
Color: blue, purple, white, or pink
Hardiness zone: 3-7
Order Flowers You Love
Now that you know what flowers to plant in a cottage garden, it’s time to pick out your favorites and get planting! Or, if you want to enjoy cottage flowers in a bouquet rather than in your garden, you can order a flower delivery from our Destinations Collection. Along with including popular countryside flowers, we’ve put together some bouquets featuring the best tropical flowers, mountain flowers, and coastal flowers. So, no matter which environment makes you feel at home, you can find farm-fresh flowers to match.
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