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Before and after · cottage garden plan · circular lawn

Cottage garden plan: a lawn and a concrete path redesigned as a circular lawn in deep borders, with espaliers on the wall

A lawn beside a concrete slab path, with a rendered block wall across the back and a close board fence on the right, photographed at an angle from the house end. From one photo, it was redesigned to a cottage garden layout: a circular lawn set in deep borders of delphiniums, foxgloves, roses and hardy geraniums, a flagstone path on the line of the concrete, espalier apple and pear trees on a new wall at the back, and oak seating on pea gravel at the far end.

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After: the same garden drawn as a cottage garden, a flagstone path down the left, a circular lawn in the middle, deep borders of blue delphiniums, pink and white foxgloves, purple hardy geraniums, pink and peach roses, catmint and box balls, espalier fruit trees on the wall at the back, a timber arch, oak table and chairs on pea gravel at the far end, and roses and lilac clematis on the warm stained fence.
Before: the owner’s photo. After: the design drawn from it.
How it works

One photo of your garden, redrawn with a finished design

Shown with another design from the gallery. This English cottage garden works the same way.

  1. A deep prairie border in a walled garden: purple salvia, orange geum, foxgloves, echinacea and lime green alchemilla spilling over a brick edge onto a lawn.The ideal design

    The garden you want

    A finished design from the gallery, with its planting and its materials.

  2. A different garden before any work: a plain rectangle of lawn between slatted timber fences, with a bench against a shed at the far end and two bare trees.Your garden

    Add your garden photo

    One picture of your garden that shows the whole plot.

  3. The same garden with that planting in it: a stone path winding to the same bench, echinacea, rudbeckia, liatris and grasses either side, the same fences, shed and trees kept.The result

    Your dream garden

    The same style of planting and the same materials, drawn around what was already there.

Transform My Garden like this First 3 designs free · no card · UK plantsOr start a design from scratch

This makeover at a glance

Style
English cottage garden
Shape
Long, with a deep border beside the path in the design
Light
Not recorded; the design’s notes call the plot full sun
Started as
A lawn, a concrete path, a rendered wall and a fence

Kept

  • The path down the left, relaid in flagstones in the design
  • The fence on the right, stained a warm brown in the design

Changed

  • A circle of lawn in borders
  • Flagstones, planted edges
  • Espaliers on the wall, a timber arch
  • Gravel, oak seating, a dressed fence
In the design

The cottage garden plan, in four parts

  1. A circle of lawn in borders, close up in the design
    Lawn to the fence, the same spot beforeBefore

    Lawn to the fence A circle of lawn in borders

    A circular lawn in the middle, with deep borders all the way round it

    The lawn shrinks to a circle in the middle of the plot, and the ground it gives up becomes borders: a long one down the left, a wide bed at the front right and a curve of planting round the far side. Box balls repeat through the borders for shape in winter.

  2. Flagstones, planted edges, close up in the design
    Concrete slabs, the same spot beforeBefore

    Concrete slabs Flagstones, planted edges

    A flagstone path on the line of the concrete, with planting over its edges

    In the design, a path of large flagstones follows the old line down the left in place of the concrete, with lady’s mantle and catmint spilling over its edges. The path keeps its line because it already goes where the garden needs it, from the house to the far end; what changes is its surface and its edges.

  3. Espaliers on the wall, a timber arch, close up in the design
    A rendered block wall, the same spot beforeBefore

    A rendered block wall Espaliers on the wall, a timber arch

    Espalier apple and pear trees on a new back wall, and a timber arch by the seating

    The design draws a new wall across the back and trains espalier fruit trees across it: apples and pears flat against it in tiers, with a pink climbing rose on the wall beside a timber arch at its right end, next to the seating. Trained flat against the wall, the trees give it blossom in spring and fruit in autumn and leave the border in front of them for the flowers.

  4. Gravel, oak seating, a dressed fence, close up in the design
    Lawn to the wall, the same spot beforeBefore

    Lawn to the wall Gravel, oak seating, a dressed fence

    Oak seating on pea gravel at the far end, and roses and clematis on the fence

    Past the circle of lawn, a small patio of pea gravel holds a weathered oak table and chairs, with its own border round it, so the walk down the garden has somewhere to arrive. The right fence stays, stained a warm brown in the design, with peach roses and lilac clematis climbing it and delphiniums and foxgloves standing in front.

Before: a back garden photographed at an angle from the house end, concrete slabs down the left, a lawn to the right of them, a rendered block wall across the back with screen blocks along its top, a brown close board fence down the right with a small pot at its foot, and houses beyond.
Before: the owner’s photo.
Before

A lawn beside a concrete path, a rendered wall at the back and a fence on the right

Concrete slabs down the left, lawn to the right of them, a rendered block wall across the back with a row of screen blocks along its top, a brown close board fence down the right with a small pot at its foot, and the houses beyond.

The design keeps the line of the path and the right fence, draws a new wall across the back with espaliers on it, and cuts the lawn down to a circle in the middle with borders all round it.

In the borders

Espalier fruit trees, delphiniums and box balls: the planting

The plants the design names, and the job each one does.

  1. Espalier apples and pearsTrained flat along the back wall
  2. DelphiniumsBlue spires through the middle and back
  3. FoxglovesPink and white spires through the middle and back
  4. English rosesPink at the front, peach and pink climbing the fence and the wall
  5. Hardy geraniumsPurple, carpeting the ground between the taller plants
  6. Box ballsClipped evergreen shape through the borders, all year
  7. LavenderEdging the front of the borders and the gravel
  8. VerbenaTall purple heads at the back and behind the seating
  9. ClematisLilac, on the right fence

With Pro, every design you make names every plant in it, how big each one grows, where it goes and when it flowers, so you know what to look for at the garden centre.

What you get

What comes back from one photo of your garden

  • Redesigned around your fences and trees. About two minutes after you add your photo, in the same style and materials as this garden.
  • Planting matched to your light and soil. Add your light and soil if you know them, and the planting follows them.
  • Every plant named, with Pro or Max. Pro is one payment: £29 for 20 designs over 14 days, two at once; Max, £49 for 50 over 30 days, four at once. Every one names its plants, how big each grows, where it goes and when it flowers.
  • Built by a professional gardener. Real plants that grow in UK gardens.
Transform My Garden like this First 3 designs free · no card · UK plantsOr start a design from scratch
Questions

Questions about this cottage garden layout

How big should a circular lawn be?

Smaller than you think: the ground the lawn gives up is what makes the borders deep. In this design the circle takes about half the width of the plot, with borders deep enough for roses in front of spires on every side.

How are the borders laid out in this cottage garden plan?

A long border down the left, a wide bed at the front right, a border round the seating at the far end, and the lawn in the middle. Spires at the back, roses and geraniums through the middle, catmint and lady’s mantle at the front.

How much does a garden makeover design like this cost?

Your first 3 garden designs are free, no card required. After that, Pro is one payment: £29 for 20 designs over 14 days, two at once; Max, £49 for 50 over 30 days, four at once, every plant named in every one, and clean pictures to keep.

Is the after picture a real garden?

The before is the owner’s own photo. The after is the design Garden Design App drew from it, using real plants you can buy in the UK.

Keep reading

More before and after garden makeovers

After: the same strip as a planted courtyard, with a paved path through deep borders of lavender, purple salvias, coneflowers and grasses to a small table and chairs
Part sun · narrow plot

Wildlife garden makeover

A narrow strip of lawn, redesigned as a paved path between deep borders of lavender and salvias.

After: the same plot with a brick and stone path curving to the shed between deep borders of roses, delphiniums, lupins, foxgloves and peonies, with terracotta urns at the top of the path
Full sun · fenced plot

Cottage garden makeover

A bare, straw coloured lawn and a deck crowded with pots, redesigned as deep borders of roses, delphiniums and lupins.

After: the same garden as a Mediterranean gravel garden, with pale gravel, flagstone stepping stones, clipped olive trees in terracotta pots, drifts of lavender and a timber arch
Full sun · acid soil

Mediterranean garden makeover

A rectangle of lawn, redesigned as pale gravel, olive trees and drifts of lavender.

After: the same garden with an irregular stone path winding through grasses, white anemones, foxgloves and peonies to the chairs at the far end
Shade · town garden

Small town garden makeover

Long grass and a hosepipe in a shaded town garden, redesigned as a winding path through grasses and shade planting.

After: the same passage with a stone flag path running through deep shade planting of ferns, hostas, foxgloves, periwinkle and a Japanese maple against the fence
Deep shade · narrow run

Shady side passage makeover

The bit down the side where the bins live, redesigned as a shaded path of ferns, hostas and foxgloves.

After: the same yard with pale limestone paving, a curved lawn edged in brick and deep borders of catmint, salvias, coneflowers and climbing roses
Full sun · clay soil

Modern garden makeover

Slabs, bare soil and a blank brick gable, redesigned as curved lawn and deep planted borders.

After: the same plot as a meadow garden, with a stepping stone path through deep borders of purple salvias, crimson scabious, pink coneflowers and grasses, wisteria and clematis on the fence beneath the gable, and the deck edged with lavender
Part sun · clay

New build garden makeover

A rectangle of new turf beside a blank gable, redesigned as a meadow of salvias and scabious, with climbers on the fence and the shed.

After: the same plot as a white gravel garden, with one straight path of large grey slabs to a small patio under a white pergola, deep borders of white rock roses, lamb’s ears and white foxgloves along sage green fences, and agaves in terracotta pots
Full sun · clay

Long garden makeover

A long plot of grey gravel and slabs, redesigned as a white gravel garden with one slab path to a pergola at the far end.

After: the same plot as a cottage garden, the lawn replaced by beds of delphiniums, foxgloves and roses either side of a stepping stone path to a metal bench, climbing roses on the side fences, catmint at the foot of the wall, a terracotta pot on the step and thyme in the joints of the patio
Part sun

Tiered garden makeover

A slab patio, a step and a raised lawn, redesigned as a cottage garden with roses on the fences for privacy and a bench at the top.

After: the same plot as a cottage garden, an oak framed gazebo with a slate roof where the summerhouse was, a teak table and chairs under it, a gravel path through lavender and catmint, borders of pink roses, blue delphiniums and silver lamb’s ears on both sides, clematis and roses on the black fence either side of the gazebo
Full sun · dry

Gazebo garden makeover

A lawn gone brown and dry and an old summerhouse, redesigned as a cottage garden with an oak gazebo and a gravel path through lavender.

After: the same view with the pergola in full wisteria flower over the deck, a lawn with curved edges and deep borders of foxgloves, mullein, geum, catmint and black eyed Susans, a path of sandstone slabs through gravel to a small sandstone patio with a bistro table and two chairs to the right of the lawn, and the brick walls and back shrubs where they were
Full sun

Wisteria pergola garden makeover

A patchy lawn under a wisteria pergola, redesigned as a curved lawn with deep borders for bees and a sandstone patio to the right of the lawn.

After: the same view with a path of grey and buff stone laid in herringbone curving down the middle to the foot of the spiral staircase, borders of Mexican feather grass, Japanese forest grass, blue fescue and heuchera on both sides with blue delphiniums and purple top verbena rising through them, lavender beside the path, lilac clematis and pale climbing roses on the fences, and the staircase, the brick house and the shrub where they were
Part sun · clay

Urban garden makeover

A narrow strip of artificial grass under a spiral staircase, redesigned as a curved herringbone path through borders of grasses and perennials.

After: the same view with paths of pale gravel winding out from the patio between drifts of purple salvias, lavender, pink coneflowers and yellow black eyed Susans, a small pond with a pebble edge and a stepping stone on the right, an untreated oak bench against the back fence, the fences stained a warm brown behind blue Californian lilac and orange firethorn, and the tree, the conifer and the patio where they were
Full sun · clay

Wildlife pond garden makeover

A wide lawn scorched brown, redesigned as a gravel garden with a small pebble edged pond, drifts for bees and an oak bench at the far end.

After: the design drawn from the patio edge, with a winding path of buff gravel held by low stone edging, deep borders on both sides of pink and white roses, astrantia, catmint, white foxgloves, blue delphiniums, sea holly, white brunnera and lady’s mantle, a white clematis over the trellis on the left, the yew where it was, the fences stained a warm brown and a weathered teak bench under the trees at the far end.
Full sun · acid

Winding path garden makeover

A lawn beside a patio, redesigned as a winding gravel path with low stone edging through deep borders of roses and catmint, to a bench under the trees.

After: a design drawn from the owner’s photo, with large grey slabs laid at an angle with dark pebbles between them, curved beds edged in metal holding New Zealand flax, agave, yucca, purple salvias, orange geum, white gaura and Mexican daisies, the fences stained charcoal with star jasmine on the right one, an L of teak seating built round a gas fire pit in the back corner, an olive tree in a tall planter beside it, the boarded wall and the potted shrub where they were, and the neighbours’ brick houses and roofs beyond.
Light and soil not recorded

Fire pit garden makeover

A lawn gone brown between a boarded wall and a fence, redesigned as a paved garden with slabs floating in pebbles, architectural planting and teak seating built round a fire pit.

Transform My Garden like this