If you want a garden that’s full of beauty and charm, try taking an old-fashioned approach. The flowers that your grandmother grew and loved are coming back into style because they are surprisingly easy to maintain and make an unexpected addition to your usual mix of plants.
Rebecca Sears, the chief marketing officer and “resident green thumb” at home gardening company Ferry-Morse, loves incorporating vintage flowers like poppies and alyssums. “They have stood the test of time because they bring color, charm, and a cottage garden feel without requiring a lot of fuss,” she says.
Another thing to love about them? From forget-me-nots to bleeding hearts, their delightfully vintage flower names can be a lot of fun to say.
If you want to get an old-fashioned look but don’t know where to start, Sears suggests using Ferry-Morse’s Old Fashioned Garden Flower Seed Mix. “We often recommend mixes like that one for gardeners who want that classic, cottage-style display with a range of traditional blooms,” she says.
Or, if you’d prefer to choose your own plants, here are our top picks for your own custom cottage garden.
Forget-me-nots
These flowers may be small in size, but their bright color really stands out in the garden. “Their recognizable blue blooms feel timeless and work especially well near woodland edges, under larger trees, or in partly shaded garden beds where the soil stays consistently moist,” says Sears.
Sweet Alyssum
This easygoing plant produces mounds of teeny-tiny blooms. “It is one of my favorite accent flowers for containers, edging, and border plantings. Its delicate, fragrant, and abundant blooms gently spill over the edges of planters, pathways, and rock walls, giving the garden a soft, romantic look,” says Sears. “Alyssum is also a practical choice for gardeners who want a low-growing flower that can help fill bare spots or create a whimsical ground cover effect.”
Bleeding Hearts
Plants don’t get more romantic than this one. With cascades of dangling heart-shaped blooms and deep green leaves, this perennial makes an eye-catching addition to containers or beds. Bleeding hearts thrive in shady areas and can grow quite tall, so make sure there is enough room for them to spread out.
Hollyhocks
Add height and cheerful color to your garden with these old-fashioned beauties. Hollyhocks are self-seeding and easy to grow, but they usually won’t flower until the second year. Once established, they will really take off—and the pollinators will follow.
Poppies
These charming blooms can give your landscape a meadowlike look. Although they may look delicate, Sears says they are tougher than they seem. “They are fast-growing, easy to enjoy from seed, and often do best when they are not overmanaged,” she says. “Poppies can handle less-than-perfect conditions, including lean soil and drier spots, which makes them a good choice for rock gardens, sunny borders, terraces, and informal cottage-style plantings.”
