Peg Aloi

The English garden style is one of the most recognizable and well-loved in the world.

English gardens were popularized in the 1800s and 1900s, thanks to authors like William Robertson and Gertrude Jekyll.

English Roses

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Gertrude Jekyll found roses to be essential in an English garden.

Colorful cottage garden with pink and white peonies and red salvia

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Keeping the shrubstrimmedto rounded shapes is easy with an electric or battery-powered hedge trimmer.

In autumn, the rich shades of green remain attractive, and the boxwoods remain evergreen through the winter.

This space-saving technique can be implemented in large or small spaces.

Bright pink dahlias in herbaceous border in front of espaliered cherry trees on a brick wall

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Narrow Paths and Lush Plants

A narrow walkway need not mean skimping on plants.

Many wild grass varieties are known in England as “rough grass.”

This tranquil seating area is right on the garden’s edge, where manicured lawn meets wild meadow.

Large topiary hegde behind colorful cottage garden flowers in an English garden

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The contrast is breathtaking, making for a sublime vista.

This provides food for wildlife and creates a natural, slightly unkempt look with overflowing textures and colors.

The round shapes also contrast with the vertical shapes and lacy textures behind them.

Garden with white arbor gate covered in climbing pink roses

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Planting tropical plants in containers allows them to be overwintered more easily if necessary.

This garden in Belgium embraceslow-maintenance borders, allowing late-spring perennials to escape their beds.

A Riot of Purple and Pink

English gardens often feature color palettes that are closely related.

Front of house bed with round boxwoods, ferns behind them and ground covers in fronter

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Late season color needn’t be limited to a warm autumn palette.

The maturewisteriatrees also lend an element of symmetry, but are definitely not symmetrical.

The similar (but not exact) elements lead the eye on a journey connecting shapes and colors.

English garden wiuth gravel walkway, clay pots with boxwoods and large flowering catmint plantings

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Bold Cottage Containers

Using containers is an easy and versatile way to achieve a cottage garden look.

The mix of textures on display here accentuates the many subtle shades of green in this lush garden.

Many English pubs adorn their outdoor beer gardens and exteriors with bright baskets and window boxes.

Vegetable garden with neat rows meeting at a diagonal point

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This English-style garden in Connecticut is delightfully unbound.

The contrast in texture and shape is dynamic and unexpected.

Rustic Containers

A common sight in the English cottage garden is old stone planters.

Garden with narrow gravel path full on both side with lush plants

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So many pollinator friendly plants invoke the cottage garden look, and you might create endless combinations.

The tall hedge provides privacy and a wind barrier on chilly days.

Container plantings can be moved around to create a fresh perspective and a flexible floor plan.

Meadow grass with white painted metal bench

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Late-Season Color

The true English garden is a year-long work of art.

Even in October, these herbaceous borders at the Wimpole Estate in Cambridgeshire are awash in color.

The low boxwood hedge in front stays evergreen year ‘round.

Brick wall with blue door and vines near garden bed with foxgloves, salvia and asters

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The potato vine is a tender annual, but otherflowering vinescould be planted for similar effect, such asclematis.

Popular colors of English gardens are varying hues of pink, purple, and green.

English garden walls are both pretty and practical.

Formal and Wild

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Walls can also provide extra growing space for certain trees and plants.

English walled garden wiuth espaliered fruit trees on brick wall, perennials and short boxwood hedge in front

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English garden in autumn with long grasses and shrubs with country house in distance

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English garden with tall boxwood topiary in background and large clumps of perennials in foreground

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Garden with bright pink echinacea in front of blue veronica and pale lavender alliums

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Small urban backyard garden with mis of perennials and tropical plants

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Lush flower garden with flowers spilling over onto walkway

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Perennials in shades of purple and pink include cosmos, asters and foxgloves

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Stone octagonal building in background of English garden with grass path and parallel beds full of perennials including purple alliums

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Stone steps in garden with sedum growing between cracks and yellow daylily by steps

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Entrance with containers of purple dahlias and red and pink geraniums, flagstone pavers in gravel

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Garden enclosed by hedges with many green plants of varying textures, with gravel walkway and bench

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Pub exterior with overflowing window boxes and hanging baskets of colorful annuals

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Garden with overgrown hedges, arbor doorway with vines, and stairs with creeping groundcovers

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Spring garden with tulips blooming in clay urn containers and in beds

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Outdoor garden seating area with arbor with orange trumpet vine, and container plantings

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Terrace garden with potted ferns and flowers and wooden table with wicker chairs

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Flower bed with pink roses and spirea and white astilbes

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Herbaceous border with low boxwood hedge in front and brick wall behind, with red and yellow mums

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White metal gazebo in garden with gravel patio, herb plantings and blue flowered potato vine

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Garden in winter with gravel path down middle of two beds full of foliage

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