My Favorite Plants for Cottage Container Gardens
Design Tips for Capturing Cottage Garden Charm in Porch Planters and Window Boxes
This year, garden design is embracing nostalgia, with many gardeners drawn to the charm and romance of cottage garden style.
Picture a garden overflowing with old fashioned roses, happy daisies, and lush borders that feel more wild than manicured. It’s a look rooted in comfort, familiarity, and a sense of ease.
Cottage container gardens can bring this same timeless feeling to small spaces, patios, and pathways…no picket fence required.
What Makes a Container Feel Cottagey?
A cottage-style container garden is as much about sentiment as it is about design. Choosing plants with personal meaning can make the space feel even more special.
I often think back to the garden roses and black-eyed Susans that were loosely tucked among the conifers in my grandparents’ northern New Jersey garden. I also recall a special trip to Nantucket, where mounds of stunning hydrangeas bloomed against white picket fences and weathered gray shingles.
A cottage container garden tells a story…one that may be inspired by personal memories, not just plant combinations.
Sentimental by design
Since this is a casual, sentimental style, there’s no specific formula to follow. Simply think about a plant that holds a personal connection or evokes a happy memory. Let that one stand alone in a single container, or combine it with other beloved plants for a carefree, mixed arrangement.
But if your favorite plants feel too large for your containers, take inspiration from them—color, texture, growth habit—and choose summer annuals in small nursery pots that capture the spirit, but in a more manageable size.
Start with the Right Planter
A relaxed, romantic look starts from the ground up. Thoughtfully chosen planters with some “age” on them can bring your cottage container display to life. Muted colors, timeworn finishes, and natural materials give your plantings that effortless, lived-in charm. Here’s what I look for:
Weathered metals and wire planters lined with moss
Earthy shades like antique terra cotta, weathered gray, and sage green
Woods and wovens
Rust, chipped paint, and even a few cracks are welcome here!
Don’t be afraid to mix slightly mismatched pots. Groupings will feel more natural when they aren’t so perfect.
QUICK TIP:
Shop thrift stores, vintage markets, and Etsy for deals on pre-loved planters that add instant character.
This post contains affiliate links. Any sales made through such links support Contained Creations, at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
Choosing Annuals for Cottage Container Gardens
Once you’ve found the perfect vessels, it’s time to fill them! Annuals are the quickest way to bring carefree color to your containers. They bloom all season long and respond beautifully to consistent care. In a cottage-style container, they create that signature flower-filled look that’s loose, cheerful, and nostalgic.
Many annuals—including cosmos, dahlias, zinnias, snapdragons, and marigolds—also work beautifully as cut flowers, ready to be snipped and arranged into a casual mason jar bouquet.
Flowering Annuals I Love for Cottage Style:
Angelonia. Upright, snapdragon-like blooms for vertical interest and wispiness.
Cosmos. Cheerful, daisy-like flowers with yellow centers and feathery foliage. Available in shades of pink, red, white, orange, and yellow.
Dahlias. Showy blooms in sizes and shapes ranging from pom-pom to “dinner plate.” Prolific bloomer and a beautiful cut flower.
Geraniums. The quintessential cottage flower for sunny porches, urns, and window boxes.
Marigolds. Vibrant, cheerful, and generally deer-resistant, they bring warmth and a sense of familiarity.
Scaevola. Petite, fan-shaped flowers that spill gently over pot edges and contrast beautifully against larger blooms.
Snapdragons. Upright stems with stacks of dragon-like flowers that prefer slightly cooler weather. My grandparents taught me to gently pinch the sides of a flower to make the dragon’s mouth open.
Torenia. A shade-tolerant trailing plant with delicate, tubular flowers.
Zinnias. Prolific and colorful, they deliver a continuous burst of blooms. Excellent cut flower.
QUICK TIP:
Pair big, showy blooms with dainty spillers for extra contrast. One of my favorite combinations is coral geraniums and sky blue scaevola.
Foliage Annuals for Texture + Contrast:
Foliage creates balance and contrast in any container garden. It provides the structure, texture, and depth that allow the flowering plants to stand out even more.
Caladium. Show-stopping, multi-colored leaves boast contrasting veins, speckles, and margins. A great way to add color in the shade.
Coleus. Available in upright, mounding, and trailing habits, all with boldly-colored solid or variegated leaves. Their wide range of colors includes plum, red, orange, chartreuse, and burgundy.
Ferns. It’s hard to beat the leafy green lushness of a Boston fern in a cottage garden, whether hanging from a covered porch or topping off a fluted urn. Or, try asparagus fern for a durable, bright green, mounding trailer with a needly texture that quickly softens edges and fills empty spaces.
Variegated Vinca Vine. Another nostalgic choice, vinca is a true spiller with green-and-white leaves that brighten any mixed planting.
COTTAGE SHORTCUT:
Boston ferns and vintage plant stands are a fast formula for adding cottage charm.
QUICK TIP:
Mix annuals and perennials for a container garden that will last longer: caladium, heuchera, and asparagus fern.
Ready to bring your cottage container garden to life? Start with the right planter.
My FREE Planter Shopping Guide will help you choose one that fits your space and your style.
Perennials for Cottage Container Gardens
Perennials bring a sense of structure and longevity to container gardens. While many of them prefer room to spread in the ground, plenty can thrive in large pots for several seasons. In a cottage-style setting, they instantly create that lush, established look. They can also be moved to the landscape when the season ends, or when they outgrow their containers.
Choose varieties that offer a mix of blooms, fragrance, and foliage interest. Be sure to give them a bit more space to grow, especially in mixed arrangements or window boxes.
Flowering Perennials That Fit the Cottage Look:
Sunflowers mimic the look of their cousin, Black-eyed Susans.
Anemone. Saucer-shaped pink or white flowers bloom on tall thin stems in late summer, just when annuals are beginning to fade. A great plant for transitioning containers to fall.
Coreopsis. Cheerful, daisy-like flowers that bloom all summer.
Black-eyed Susans. Warm, golden petals with deep brown eyes make a striking addition to containers. Select a shorter variety (1-3 feet maximum height) and use a large container that offers ample room for roots and stems to grow.
Butterfly Candy™ Buddleia. Compact and container-friendly. Stick to soft hues like lavender or white for a delicate, dreamy effect.
Echinacea. Also known as coneflower, Echinacea has large daisy-like flowers with spiky central cones. Enjoy blooms mid-summer through fall.
Gaura. Delicate, fluttering blooms on slender stems create a whimsical effect from this long-blooming perennial, available in shades of white and pink.
Hydrangea. Ahhh, the quintessential cottage flower. Whether you go with a big leaf (macrophylla), smooth (arborescens), or panicle (paniculata) variety, use a large pot (16” in diameter or more) and look for dwarf or petite breeds that won’t outgrow their space too quickly.
Lavender. Fragrant, soft-textured, and a favorite with pollinators.
Roses. Romantic, fragrant, and iconic. Compact shrub and tree varieties thrive in large containers.
Foliage and Structure Plants:
Herbs. Don’t forget about edibles! English Thyme, Greek Oregano, Sage, and Rosemary are perennial or semi-evergreen (depending on your climate) and make a charming, productive addition to mixed containers.
Ginko Craig Hosta and Petite Emerald™ Heuchera by Monrovia® are the perfect shade plants for this window box. Download this FREE planter recipe!
Heuchera. A reliable favorite for rich foliage tones in burgundy, coral, peach, and chartreuse. Provides beauty spring through autumn.
Hosta. Prized plant for shady perennial borders with broad leaves, mounding growth habit, and seemingly endless shades of green. Large hostas are a striking choice as a single specimen in containers, while petite varieties, like Ginko Craig Hosta from Monrovia®, tuck easily into mixed porch planters and window boxes.
Boxwood. These evergreen shrubs bring gentle structure to containers while letting the flowers spill and sway around them. I frequently use ‘Green Mountain’ (pyramidal) and ‘Green Velvet’ (spherical).
Evergreens, perennials, and annuals mingle in this cottage container garden.
‘White Wedding' Hydrangea, ‘Green Mountain’ Boxwood, and Heritage™ Better Boxwood serve as the focal points in this trio of planters.
When planted in containers, perennials (and evergreens) create an instantly lush, established look. They offer several seasons of beauty and perform best when given a little extra room for root growth.
QUICK TIP: Plant one large perennial per container and add small annuals around the edge. This approach works especially well with shrubs like roses and hydrangeas, which need more room to grow.
Finishing Touches
Once your containers are planted, it’s the little extras that will bring the cottage feel to life. Look for accessories with aged finishes and a hint of whimsy. A cozy bench tucked beside your flower-filled pots. A weathered watering can sitting near the door. These small additions can make your outdoor space feel layered, well-loved, and welcoming, like it’s been that way for years.
Accessories That Add Instant Cottage Charm TO THE GARDEN:
Rustic benches and wrought iron chairs invite lingering among the flowers.
Window boxes echo your container plantings at eye level.
Wood trellises and arched obelisks add height and help vines or climbers feel at home.
Throw pillows in ticking, gingham, patchwork, or chintz soften the look.
Weathered umbrellas and aged watering cans can double as functional décor.
QUICK TIP:
Not everything should match. Mixing styles and finishes adds to the relaxed, collected charm of a true cottage garden.
Looking for the perfect finishing pieces? I’ve rounded up some of my favorite planters, pillows, and cottage garden accents below:
Shop the Cottage Garden Style: Planters, Accents, and Outdoor Accessories
Love this style? Looking for more inspiration? Check out my Top 10 Container Gardening Trends to Try in 2025 for a deeper dive into the latest design movements shaping the landscape.
And if you happen to have a favorite cottagey plant, please share it below!
Steph
PS: To compare this year’s container gardening trends with 2024, check out last year’s trends roundup.
